by Joy Ellis
CHAPTER TWENTY
Spooky had not seen much of Nikki on Monday. She had been busy setting up her new computer system while Nikki dashed from meeting to meeting.
Now Spooky sat in the dim light of the Briar Patch.
The meeting was attended by all the club members, except the grieving Maria Lawson. Spooky had persuaded Nikki to let her go alone, on the understanding that she would meet her directly afterwards.
They sat around in the bar. ‘What’s yours, Spooks, me darlin’?’
‘Thanks. A Stella, if you’re buying.’
Spooky looked at the woman known as “Trader.” She was a bit of an anomaly in this group of professional and career women. All Spooky really knew about her was that whatever you wanted, Trader could get it for you, and if she couldn’t, then she knew a bloke who’d find it by midnight.
‘Cheers.’
‘What’s all this about then?’
Spooky took a long swallow and shook her head. ‘Damned if I know, but I’d guess it’s something to do with the murders, wouldn’t you?’
‘I suppose. Maybe they’re drawing the curtain on the club until the killer is found. Nasty thought, isn’t it? You can’t help but look over your shoulder if you’re out alone.’
‘I’ve even stopped sky-watching, mainly because Bliss gets twitchy, but partly because it is a scary time.’
‘I hear there’s been another. Not one of ours, but a woman, nevertheless. Some homophobic freak really doesn’t like the ladies, does he?’
‘Seems that way. Hang on, Trader. Looks like we’re being called to order.’
Sylvia Caulfield was standing on a small platform at the back of the dance floor.
‘Ladies! Your attention, please.’
The babble of voices dwindled, and she explained why she had called the meeting.
‘So. You need to be fully aware of the situation. At the end of the meeting we will vote either to go to the police, which will involve providing them with a full list of our members, or keep all we know to ourselves and endeavour to maintain the status quo.’
‘If we go to the police, why do we have to tell them that we’re gay? Can’t we just say it’s a professional networking club?’ Charlene Crawford asked.
‘I’m sorry, Charlene, but I think the police are too smart to fall for that. And they will want to know the truth about Madeline. There is no point in speaking to them if we water down our information.’
‘Do you believe we really are in danger, Sylvia?’ Trader asked.
‘We wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Prior to coming here tonight, I spoke to some of our oldest members about it. We don’t know the reason, but it does seem as if the Briar Patch is the common factor. Which brings me to another question. You’ve probably all seen the news about the latest victim, the poor woman found in Denise and Rosemary’s well. Did any of you know her, or know of her? Her maiden name was Cartwright, Millicent Cartwright.’
No one seemed to recall her, but the connection was plain to everyone. The killer had deposited the body at the home of a Briar Patch member.
‘Right, I’ll leave you to discuss the matter. Have another drink, if you like, and at ten o’clock, we vote. There will be no abstaining.’
Trader deposited her bulk on the seat next to Spooky. ‘So how do you feel about it?’
Spooky sighed. ‘I feel desperately sorry for the women who will be most affected by our decision. I couldn’t give a monkey’s who knows that I’m gay, but then I’m not hurting anyone by being open about it. It could cause a lot of upset and a lot of tears for some people here tonight.’
‘Shall I take that as a yes then, for going to the Old Bill?’
‘Mmm. ’Fraid so. I think we are out of our depth and the professionals should deal with it. Want another? It’s my round.’
‘A Guinness, please. I’ll be over there with Zena and Charlene. I’d like to get a feel for what the others think.’
Spooky took Trader her drink and sat down with the small group.
Charlene was sipping a white wine, and looked anxious. ‘I’m not sure what to think about this.’ She swirled the wine in the glass and stared at it. ‘My head says go the authorities, but my heart says no. There are so many women here who need to keep their private lives just that, private. It will be devastating for them.’ She ran a hand through her shoulder length red hair, and looked up at Zena, ‘What’s your opinion?’
Zena didn’t answer immediately, then she sighed and said, ‘I’m a little like you, Charlene, but I do know that we don’t want to lose any more dear friends or people close to us. I want this killer caught, but I’m just not sure if the cost to some of our members will be too high.’ She picked up her glass and took a long swallow.
‘Surely the cost would be even higher if someone else dies?’ Spooky added.
Charlene nodded. ‘I know you are right, but I’ll still feel as if I’m a Judas if I vote in favour of going to the police.’
‘It’s a dilemma alright,’ Trader shook her head. ‘We’ll be damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. Talk about a rock and a hard place.’ She stood up and lifted her glass to them. ‘I’m going to see what the others think.’
‘You’ve got a girlfriend, haven’t you, Charlene?’ Spooky asked.
‘Yes, but she’s not really into the scene, and we don’t live together. Liz is a bit of a swat, got a good job at the Uni, but she spends a lot of time with her head in books and papers, not like me.’ Charlene smiled ruefully. ‘I’m always there if someone mentions the word “party.” And not exactly monogamous either.’ She gave Spooky a knowing wink, then added, ‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s a two way thing. Liz has her little chums too.’
‘Maybe it’s a good job she doesn’t come here,’ said Zena morosely. ‘I’d be worried sick about her.’
‘Maria’s daughter didn’t come here, and she paid the price anyway, poor kid,’ Spooky bit her lip. ‘No one is safe.’
‘No one is safe,’ repeated Charlene, ‘You are right there.’ She finished her drink and stood up. ‘I need a top-up.’
Spooky had a few more words with Zena, then got up and moved around from group to group, listening to what they had to say. Some seemed frightened, others upset or angry, and some were completely undecided. Everyone was anxious.
‘I won’t be able to face my workmates! It will be the end of my career.’
‘But if you and your loved ones are in danger, you don’t have a choice, do you?’
‘My family! If the details come out, and knowing what social media is like, they probably will, I just don’t know how I will explain it to them. They are so out of touch, they won’t understand at all.’
As ten o’clock drew near, even Spooky was feeling nervous about the outcome. There were twenty-four women present, and from the sound of the discussions, it would be a close thing.
‘Ladies! Please!’ The voices ceased immediately. ‘In the spirit of the friendship and fellowship of the Briar Patch women, will you please support the majority decision, whatever the result of the vote? Are we agreed? All those in favour of going to the authorities, please raise your hand.’
Sammy and Zena counted.
‘And for remaining as we are, raise your hand, please.’
From where Spooky stood, it was hard to tell.
‘Sammy? Zena? Do you have the results?’
They nodded. Zena said, ‘The vote is fourteen to ten in favour of staying as we are.’
There was an immediate outbreak of excited chatter. Spooky felt sick. She knew it was the wrong decision, and from the expression on Sylvia Caulfield’s face, she felt the same way. She stepped down from the stage towards the bar, passing close to Spooky. She gave her the strangest look.
Later, walking home along the High Street, Spooky wondered what that glance had meant. It had been a curious mixture of anger, determination, and something else that Spooky had trouble identifying. She thought it might have been a plea for help.
; * * *
Nikki sat in her car and watched the entrance to Salem Alley. After a while she saw the boyish figure of Spooky striding from the main road, her hands in her pockets and the night wind ruffling her hair. The arrangement was that Nikki would give her a moment or two to get indoors, and then join her. Nikki tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and looked at the clock. She would give her five minutes.
Then her friend was running towards her. Something was very wrong. Nikki jumped out of the car and ran across the road to meet her.
‘Nik, come quickly! The candle in the window! It’s gone! And the front door is ajar!’ Spooky’s voice was trembling.
They raced down the alley. The lights in the flat were on, but the window sill was empty.
‘Wait here. I’ll call down when it’s safe for you to follow me, okay?’
Spooky’s face was white. Nikki pushed the front door open and moved forward into the hall. She heard Spooky enter behind her. She mounted the stairs to the first floor landing, and stood listening. Her heart hammered in her ears, but she clearly heard the footsteps on the floor above. There was at least one person up there. She took a deep breath, launched herself up the next flight, and practically cannoned into a tall, ash blond male.
From his wide eyes and the ‘O’ of his mouth, and the fact that he was leading Spooky’s collie dog, Scully, Nikki surmised that she had not just met Greenborough’s serial killer.
‘Oh, you gave me such a start! You’re that Detective Chief Inspector, aren’t you?’ he said
Her heart began to slow. ‘Not yet, but I do have ambitions. And you must be either Dougie or Tim, I guess?’
Spooky clattered up the stairs. ‘Tim! Where’s Bliss? Is she all right?’
‘Calm down, dear, she’s fine. She’s over at our place. Pooch-face and I had just come back to check that all was well and to leave you a note.’ He sat down on the top step. ‘Bliss had a bit of a fright. Someone kept ringing the entry buzzer. When she tried to ring us to tell us to look and see who was there, the phone went dead on her. She used the candle to alert us that something was wrong.’
‘Did you phone the police?’
Tim pulled a face. ‘No. The phone is fine again now, and we did see some kids hanging around down the alley. It seemed a bit extreme to trouble the police for a probable game of knock down ginger.’
Nikki smiled at him. ‘You’re right. I doubt very much that the cavalry would have turned out for that.’
‘Well now, ladies. Who’d like a drink after all that excitement? I don’t know about you, but I could kill a G&T.’
Impatient to know how the Briar Patch meeting had gone, Nikki declined the offer. Spooky went with her neighbour to collect Bliss.
Ten minutes later, the three of them were sitting in the lounge of the big flat.
‘It just shows how twitchy we all are, doesn’t it? I can’t tell you what I was imagining.’ Spooky was sitting next to Bliss, holding her hand so tightly that her veins stood out.
‘With good reason.’ Nikki’s relief was almost as great. ‘Well, if nothing else, it proves that your warning system works.’
Bliss got up and poured two good measures of scotch. She raised her eyebrows to Nikki. ‘Can you?’
‘Just a very small splash. I think I need it.’
Bliss said she had been absolutely terrified. She still had no idea what had happened to the telephone. ‘Anyway, how was the meeting?’
‘They voted on whether or not to go to the authorities, and it didn’t go well. The majority were for keeping quiet.’
Nikki cursed under her breath. ‘Did you find out anything else?’
‘They told us sweet Fanny Adams, but I’m sure some of them know something about Madeline. The way Anna Blunt shut up when I came near spoke volumes. I just heard snippets of conversation, and I’m sure there’s more to the Madeline thing than just the fact that she was hiding her true sexuality from her father.’
‘Was the meeting well-attended?’
‘Everyone was there, apart from Maria Lawson. Oh yes, and I could tell that Sylvia Caulfield was gutted by the way the vote went. She gave me the strangest look when I was on my way out. I have an idea she might contact you, for all her talk about supporting the majority.’
‘I hope she does. In fact if I don’t hear from her first, I’ll pay her a visit. And, Spooks, did you notice how Zena Paris voted?’
‘To keep quiet. I watched her closely.’
‘Mmm. She’s the one I really need to get to. One of our detectives interviewed her after Louise Lawson’s death and drew a blank. I’d like a try myself, I might ask different questions.’
‘We could ask her round for a drink, and you could just happen to drop by?’ Bliss volunteered.
‘I might take you up on that. Or, sod it, I might just tell DI Gill Mercer to go ahead and interview everyone anyway, not that I think it’d do much good.’ She sipped her scotch. If they could only make a solid connection between the Hammond case and the Prospero/Lawson killings, they could launch a mammoth joint investigation. Although she could appreciate the difficulties some of the Briar Patch women would face, lives were at risk, and the pursuit of justice would have to come first.
She finished her drink and glanced at the clock. ‘God! Is that the time? I must get home. Thanks for the drink, and thanks for helping me, Spooks. I appreciate it. Now I have to go. Don’t forget to put your candle back in the window.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
With a showman’s flourish, Rory burst into the office and deposited a pile of folders and reports on Nikki’s desk.
‘Results, Nikki! Incontrovertible. Listen to this. Millicent Cartwright’s dental records match those of Ellen McDonald from Dunedin, South Island. Same woman. And your nice new detective, Ben, is it, has a fairly recent photograph of her, sent by the New Zealand police. Same face as the cadaver in my mortuary.’ Rory took the coffee Joseph handed him. ‘Now, how she died.’ He paused. ‘In exactly the same manner as Louise Lawson. There’s a head injury, not enough to kill her, but enough to knock her out, and she had almost identical lacerations on her arms, wrists, neck and thighs. There is no doubt that she died from a massive loss of blood.’
‘And as Millicent Cartwright is connected to the Hammond case and Louise to the Prospero case, we have our connection!’ Nikki felt a surge of elation. It was a single killer.
‘Ah, now hold on, dear Detective Inspector, the good professor has yet to finish.’
Nikki looked at Rory. ‘Go on, and don’t make it bad news, please.’
‘Far from it. Listen to this. I was having a brief discussion with one of my colleagues who conducted the PM on your suicide case, George Ackroyd. We were just admiring the excellent job he did on crushing the hyoid bone in his throat, when I noticed something.’ He took a slow sip of coffee. ‘It’s fortuitous that I have such a good eye for colour because there it was, Midnight Orchid! On his left cheek! Just the tiniest dab, but I got a match!’
Nikki stared at him. ‘So Louise’s last visitor also kissed George?’
‘Well, that brand of lipstick is not exactly rare. But it would seem so.’
‘Then did he actually kill himself? Or was it made to look that way?’
‘It was suicide, without a doubt. Everything about the crime scene indicates that he was alone when he died, and my findings discount any outside interference. It’s what, or who, drove him to it that you need to prove.’
‘Avril Hammond. He was heard arguing with someone, a woman, just before he died. It had to be her.’
Rory raised a hand. ‘One more thing. No, two actually. This time we were able to lift a DNA sample from the lipstick. If it matches anything found at both the Prospero and Lawson scenes, your life should be easy once you have a suspect in your cosy cells. And now, a little puzzle for you. The late Mr Frederick Cartwright, your other suicide, is still in our freezer, awaiting release after the coroner’s verdict. As so many people seem to be getting the kiss of
death at present, I checked his facial skin again, and guess what?’
‘Old Fred Cartwright as well?’ Joseph’s eyes were wide.
‘Yes, Old Fred too.’
‘Jesus! She kills his daughter, then goes and tells Daddy Fred that his darling baby won’t be visiting after all, and the poor old sod tops himself. The evil bitch! She’s like one of those deadly spiders.’ Nikki looked from Joseph to Rory. ‘Well, this brings the two investigations together, so now we’ll have the manpower to get something done. Are you off to break the news to Gill Mercer?’
‘I thought you might like to accompany me?’ Rory grinned at her. ‘But I had to tell you first. All along you’ve suspected it was the same woman, so good for you, Nikki! We’re not a bad team, are we? You, with your devious mind and me with a forensic brain the size of a giant pumpkin!’
‘Absolutely, Rory, but I’m not so keen on the devious, if it’s all the same to you.’
‘Would cunning do?’
‘Better.’
‘How about wily?’
‘Perfect. Shall we go?’
‘I preferred devious myself,’ murmured Joseph.
‘Shut up, Joseph,’ Nikki said.
* * *
At two that afternoon, a briefing was held in the main murder room, DI Gill Mercer’s current base.
The superintendent formally notified all those present that the two investigations were now combined. DI Galena and DI Mercer were to lead it jointly and all information would be pooled. The combined operation would be called “Lazarus,” since the main suspect had, in a manner of speaking, risen from the dead. He then asked Nikki to tell them what she knew of Avril Hammond.
‘We believe that when she was a teenager, Avril killed her father, staged his apparent suicide, and ran away, leaving everyone to believe that Gordon had murdered his own daughter. The recent discovery of a body in St Augustine’s churchyard exposed a different version of events. The skeleton is that of Gordon Hammond, viciously murdered by someone of the same height as his daughter was then. It appears that she lured him to the desolate spot with the deliberate intention of ending his life, the thing we don’t know, is why. Did she put an end to a five-year-long spree of animal cruelty and child abuse, committed by her father? Or did she kill him because he knew that she was the one who had committed the abuse?’ Nikki looked around the room at all the faces turned towards her.