Butterfly Grave (Murder Notebooks)

by Anne Cassidy

  The next morning as she opened the curtains in her room she saw the SUV again. It was there, parked further along on the other side of the street and the woman was sitting in the driver’s seat. She couldn’t see the dog but she guessed it was probably in the car.

  Why was it there?

  Was she being paranoid?

  Joshua was downstairs. She could hear the radio and she could smell food cooking so she went into his room.

  It was the first time she had been in there and she was surprised at how bare it was. It was as if he’d taken absolutely everything to London with him. There were no pictures on the wall, no ornaments, awards, photographs or memorabilia. How different it was to his London flat, which was full to bursting with posters, books, CDs, DVDs, magazines. It was as if he’d decided he wasn’t coming back. She wondered, for a moment, if his uncle had seen it like that. If he had walked into the bare room and realised that Joshua, who had grown up with him, hadn’t just gone to university. He’d gone for good.

  Joshua’s bag was in the corner still packed. The zip gaped and clothes spilled out as if he had rummaged round for any old thing to wear. Over the back of Joshua’s bedside chair was the bomber jacket he’d bought for his uncle as a Christmas present. His laptop, phone, wallet and some papers were all strewn on the floor by his bed.

  On the back of the door hung Joshua’s new coat. Rose listened hard in case he was about to come upstairs. There was no sound so she thrust her hand into the pocket of the coat and pulled out the small notebook he’d been using to write down car registration numbers. She opened it and saw page after page of numbers written crookedly, some in pencil, some in pen. Each page had a date at the top. She sat down on the very edge of Joshua’s bed and looked down the list. She started with the most recent, the day before yesterday when they’d been travelling up from London. GT50 DNT was what she was searching for.

  Three-quarters of the way down she found it.

  GT50 DNT.

  She was right. The silver SUV was there when they stopped at the services. Surely that just was too much of a coincidence. She tore a piece of paper from the pad and wrote the number on it, shoving it into her pocket.

  She looked down at the floor wondering what to do next. Joshua’s things were by her feet, as if they’d just been thrown there. She picked all of it up, some papers falling away. She dropped everything on the duvet while she retrieved the papers from the floor. When she placed those alongside the wallet she saw that it had fallen open. On one half of it was a photograph. She was startled to see her own face.

  Joshua carried a photo of her in his wallet.

  She picked it up and saw that the photo was in one of the plastic pouches used for credit cards. She turned it over and there was Joshua’s handwriting. Rosie, Camden Market. She remembered during their shopping trip earlier in the week Joshua had taken pictures with his phone. He must have cropped whatever shot it was to get this tiny image of her. And she wasn’t even smiling. Her face had a quizzical look and her fringe was too long, dipping into her eyes. She was wearing the blue earrings so it must have been taken after he’d bought them for her.

  She was surprised.

  No, she was touched that he carried her picture with him.

  Placing the wallet on the bedside table she remembered about the silver SUV. What was she going to do with the information? If she told Joshua it would only add to his worries. Skeggsie was due round soon. She’d wait until he was on his own and tell him. She replaced the notebook in Joshua’s coat pocket.

  Downstairs she went straight for the kettle. Joshua was sitting at the kitchen table reading things from his phone.

  ‘You know what?’ he said.

  ‘What?’ she said brightly, determined to start the day on a positive note.

  She got some bread out and put a slice into the toaster.

  ‘I’ve got this theory. I think Stu was in touch with Dad. Maybe the whole five years or maybe just part of it. Maybe once Dad was somewhere safe he contacted Stu telling him to keep the truth from me and Stu did that.’

  Rose had her back to Joshua. She wanted to tell him to stop, to slow down, to forget the theories and just deal with his uncle’s accident.

  ‘I think that maybe Stu had some way of getting in touch with Dad; a number to ring, a PO box to write to. Maybe he realised he was getting in a financial mess and asked him to meet him on Cullercoats Cliff. That’s why he parked round the corner because he knew that any meeting with Dad had to be completely secret.’

  ‘Why did he ask Greg Tyler to meet him there if he was meeting Brendan?’

  ‘He was meeting Dad earlier, maybe eight thirty, and then he arranged for Greg to come later.’

  ‘But would he do that if seeing Brendan was such a secret?’

  ‘Rose, this is supposition. I’m just playing with ideas here. There’s no need to squash it before I’ve even got it all out.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘So he meets Dad and asks him for money and that’s why they row. Or something.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘And then Dad goes off.’

  ‘And Greg Tyler? You think they met? You think he was telling the truth?’

  ‘Maybe. No. I’m not sure.’

  ‘If Stu wanted money, why not contact Brendan? Money can be moved by phone.’

  ‘Ah,’ Joshua smiled, on surer footing now. ‘There’s no way that Dad’s going to transfer money from one bank account to another. There’s a trail there that could lead back to him.’

  ‘That’s if Stuart was calling out Bren and not Ben, or Den, or Len.’

  ‘Like I said it’s just a theory.’

  Joshua closed his eyes. He looked irritated.

  ‘Don’t talk to me about this,’ Rose said sharply, ‘if you don’t want me to have an open and honest conversation with you. I’m not some kid you have to get annoyed at.’

  ‘This isn’t about you, Rose.’

  ‘I know. I haven’t talked about me. I’m trying to respond to what you said!’

  Rose left her toast on the plate and walked out of the room. She felt incensed. It wasn’t about her. She hadn’t meant it that way! She walked up and down the hall for a few moments until she calmed down. Then she turned to go back to the kitchen but suddenly couldn’t face sitting with Joshua, going round and round in circles. She actually had something important to tell him. She needed to let him know about the SUV but that would probably bring about some other barbed comments. Why didn’t you tell me before? Or Why are you bringing that up when there are other more important things to worry about?

  She picked up the door keys from the hall table and went outside. She looked up the street. The SUV was still there. She walked a few steps along the pavement and stood in full view staring at the driver. The woman stared back. The car was too far away to see her face but she sensed that the woman was concentrating on her. Then she saw the dog’s face on the passenger side. Rose crossed her arms and stood very still. A couple of women passing by had to get round her and said, ‘ ’Scuse me, pet.’ The woman’s arm reached across to the dog. Then seconds later Rose heard the engine start and the indicator clicked. The car moved out and went down the street, gathering speed gradually. The driver’s profile never flinched as the car passed her. When it was gone Rose felt herself relax suddenly.

  She turned and saw Skeggsie coming towards her.

  She put her hand in her back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with the registration number on it.

  ‘What you doing out here?’ Skeggsie said.

  ‘It’s a long story. Could you ask your dad to find out about this registration number?’

  She held out the piece of paper.

  ‘How come?’ he said, taking it.

  ‘It’s a silver SUV, like the one that Josh and I had dealings with in Stiffkey. It must have been parked in the services where we stopped on the way up. The first stop. And it’s been parked in the street for short periods ever since. I think it mig
ht be following us. I didn’t want to tell Josh in case I’m wrong or it winds him up more.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do. There’s a couple of programmes I’ve got for ferreting information out. If I can’t then I’ll ask Dad.’

  ‘I don’t think you should mention it to Josh yet. He’s not in a good place.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Do you think that Brendan was here talking to Stuart on the night of the accident?’

  Skeggsie blew between his teeth.

  ‘Maybe. We know Brendan’s alive, right?’

  ‘And my mum.’

  ‘ ’Course. We know they’re both alive. Why would Brendan not be in some sort of contact with Stuart? He is his brother and he’s looking after his son.’

  ‘But would Stuart keep it from Josh?’

  ‘If Brendan asked him to. If the reason he disappeared is important enough. Yes, I think he would.’

  Joshua appeared at the door. He looked at both of them sternly.

  ‘When you two have finished with the small talk maybe we can get on? I’ve got to go to the hospital at eleven and then see Joe Warner!’

  Rose met Skeggsie’s eyes and exhaled slowly. She followed him up the path and into the house.

  NINE

  In the afternoon Rose and Joshua took Poppy for a walk.

  Skeggsie was seeing relatives so they got the bus along Broadway for four stops until they got to Cullercoats. Then it was a short walk to the cliffs.

  Joshua was in a better mood. At the hospital his uncle had been sitting up in bed sipping a drink, he said. He was still a bit groggy but seemed to remember the fact that he’d had too much to drink just before the fall.

  ‘You didn’t say anything to him about Brendan?’ Rose said.

  Joshua shook his head.

  The policeman, Joe Warner, had been at the hospital talking to Stuart. On the way out, after the visit, he’d been positive. He’d told Joshua to give it time and that if there was anything to find out the police would do it. He’d also told him to try and get through Christmas.

  ‘Shall I come and see him with you?’ Rose said.

  ‘That’d be nice. Come on Christmas Day.’

  It was almost two o’clock and they were walking along the cliff path. It was cold and overcast. Rose had her hands in her pockets and her jacket zipped up to the neck. Behind them were the ruins of a castle. On their right was the sea, vast and calm. On the left was green parkland and the road beyond. In front the cliff walk snaked away from them. It was early afternoon but there was a hint of darkness over to the east. They walked on, Poppy dashing ahead, sniffing here and there, running in spurts and stopping, looking back then heading on.

  ‘Poppy won’t go near the edge?’ Rose said.

  ‘No, we’ve done this walk dozens of times. She knows the way.’

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right? Doing the walk won’t upset you?’

  ‘I want to do it. I want to see the place where Stu fell.’

  Ten minutes or so later they came to a noticeboard that had been erected by the police.

  Cliff Fall. A man had a cliff fall here on Wednesday 19th December at approx. 22.00 hours. He was not discovered until the morning on Thursday 20th. Did you see or hear anything unusual or suspicious along the cliff path during the evening of 19th December?

  At the bottom was a telephone number to ring.

  Joshua walked past the notice until he got to the edge. Rose followed him. It wasn’t as high as she had pictured it. The beach below could be clearly seen and between the cliff edge and the sand were two ledges that stuck out, like small shelves.

  ‘Stu must have lain there all night,’ Joshua said. ‘See, if you’re on the beach, you can see it. Not in the dark of course but it’s clear now.’

  ‘And Poppy?’

  ‘Joe said they found her sitting up here. She was very cold. They wrapped her in silver blankets and took her to the vet. Susie Tyler picked her up from there.’

  Joshua turned and looked away from the sea towards the park and the houses and the road.

  ‘My dad could have parked anywhere along here and caught up with Stu while he was walking. That’s what I’ve been thinking, Rose. You asked, this morning, why Stu would make an arrangement to meet my dad if he knew he was meeting Greg Tyler? It was a completely sensible thing to say. But what if Stu hadn’t made that arrangement with my dad? What if he was meeting Greg here and my dad, for some reason of his own, followed him, thinking he was just out for a walk with the dog, called to him and they had a conversation that ended in a row. What if that happened?’

  ‘That’s possible,’ Rose said.

  Joshua continued looking at the area as though he was watching a replay of the events of the previous Wednesday night.

  ‘Dad calls out to him. They talk. They argue about something, I don’t know what. Then Dad walks away, in a huff and Stu calls after him, Bren! Bren! But Dad doesn’t come back. Stu is upset. Don’t forget he’s already drunk a lot and he turns and walks straight on, like he would on the path only he’s not on the path – he’s on a diagonal from the road to the edge and before he knows it he just goes over.’

  Joshua’s voice was firm.

  ‘It could have happened like that. Trouble is it raises so many questions. Was Stu in touch with Dad? Why? And why would Dad come to meet him here, anyway? Why not ring him or meet him at the house? I was away in London so there was no chance I’d walk in on them.’

  Rose pulled at his arm and they walked on. Up ahead was a building that looked like it had seen better days. As they came to it she could see that there was a seating area in front of it as though it had once been a cafe. There were a couple of young men there. She recognised one of them. Rory Spenser was sitting beside another young man. There were cans of drink on the table in front of them. She felt Joshua stiffen. Poppy ran off in their direction. Rory got up and walked towards the dog, bending over to make a fuss of her. Rose tensed.

  ‘All right, Josh?’ Rory called.

  Joshua gave a curt nod of his head. He held the lead up to Poppy and she reluctantly walked back towards them. Rory stood very still, staring at them. The other young man never moved, just continued to drink out of his can. As soon as Joshua got Poppy back on the lead he turned and began to walk away. Rose followed him.

  ‘Why are you still so angry at that boy?’

  ‘Rory? Or his brother, Sean?’

  ‘Rory. Martin said he’d changed.’

  ‘Martin’s an optimist. People like Rory don’t change.’

  His voice had become hard and he was walking swiftly. She had to quicken her step to keep up with him.

  ‘Was that his brother?’

  ‘Sean Spenser, an equally nasty piece of work. He taught Rory everything he knows.’

  Rose linked her arm through his, pulling him back a little, trying to slow him down. They walked for a while in silence passing the point where the police notice was. Joshua’s mood was all over the place. One minute he was calmly talking about his dad, the next he was angry at Rory Spenser, some boy from the past. He was like someone flailing about in deep water, grabbing at anything to keep himself from going under.

  ‘Martin’s nice,’ she said, changing the subject.

  ‘He’s a good mate.’

  ‘He asked me on a date!’

  She stopped. Rose, Rose, why did you say that, she thought.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I saw him yesterday when I took Poppy for a walk and he, he just asked me out.’

  ‘Are you going to go?’

  Joshua was looking straight at her, puzzled.

  ‘ ’Course not,’ she said, steering him away from bumping into a signpost at the end of the path.

  He was quiet as they walked along the pavement back towards the bus stop. Then he pulled her to a halt.

  ‘Rosie, you don’t have to say no to Martin because of all this stuff about Stu . . .’

  ‘I don’t want to go . . .’ she said.


  The bus was coming now and they both ran for it. They got on, breathless and found a seat near the front. Joshua didn’t say any more about Martin and Rose, relieved, looked out of the window, her eye catching the Royal hotel as they passed it.

  Later, in the evening, Skeggsie came round with fish and chips and they watched a DVD that he’d brought. There was red wine and beer and Rose found herself drinking more than she’d meant to. Halfway through the film Josh got some whisky out of a drinks cabinet and asked if anyone else wanted some. Neither she nor Skeggsie did. Joshua left the bottle at his side and kept refilling his glass. When they said goodbye to Skeggsie Joshua was unsteady on his feet, his words a little slurred. He sat back down in his seat and Rose walked to the door with Skeggsie.

  ‘I’ve never seen Josh drunk,’ she said.

  ‘I have. He’ll sleep it off.’

  ‘Did you have any luck with the registration number?’

  He shook his head. ‘Trying a couple of Incision Programmes.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Taking data out of secure files without anyone noticing. Eddie’s helping me down in London. I will ask Dad but as a last resort. I don’t want him poking his nose into our business.’

  ‘Would he be angry?’

  ‘No, he’d just take it over!’

  The door closed and Rose went into the kitchen. She poured herself another tumbler of red wine and returned to the living room. She sat watching television for a while, feeling the wine warming up her throat. She looked over at Joshua and saw that he had fallen asleep. He was still sitting up in the armchair but his head was lolling forward. She put her wine down and stood up. She would have to move him, get him up to bed. She shoved at his arm.

  ‘Josh, time for bed, Josh. JOSH.’

  His eyes opened and with difficulty she pulled him up to a standing position.

  ‘We’re going to go upstairs now, Josh, come on. One foot after the other.’

  ‘Thaks . . .’ he said, one arm around her shoulder.

  She manoeuvred him out of the room and then they took the stairs carefully one at a time, resting between steps. Rose was cajoling him to keep going and finally, at the top of the stairs, she lifted his arm from around her shoulder and pulled him towards his bedroom. He staggered towards the bed, sat down and fell sideways, his head on the pillow, his eyes closed, his feet still on the floor.