by Cathy Glass
‘How long has Jacob been living there?’ Evans asked.
‘A few weeks,’ Elizabeth replied.
‘Before or after the break-in at Acorn Cottage?’
‘After. He had a different girlfriend back then.’ She could have kicked herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It made Jacob sound shallow, fickle, a womanizer who regularly changed girlfriends, which wasn’t true. ‘We’re going to meet her soon,’ she added, trying to repair the damage. ‘They’re both coming here for dinner next weekend.’
Evans nodded. ‘And the name of his present girlfriend?’ he asked.
‘Rosie,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Sorry, I don’t know her surname.’ This omission seemed to add to the casualness of her son’s relationships.
The PC wrote something down.
‘Either we or one of our colleagues in town will visit him. As you know we’re speaking to all the young men in the village as part of our inquiry into the robbery at Acorn Cottage.’
‘So the cottage was definitely broken into?’ Andrew asked.
‘Mary seems rather confused,’ Elizabeth added quickly. ‘We thought there was some doubt.’
Evans looked from one to the other. ‘Acorn Cottage was burgled but I’m not sure about broken into. There’s no sign of a break-in, which is why we think it could be someone who knew there was a spare key under the front doormat.’
Elizabeth’s hand shot to her mouth. ‘You really believe someone in the village would do such a thing?’
‘It’s one line of inquiry, yes,’ DC Evans said. Elizabeth wanted to ask what the others were but didn’t dare. Everything she was saying sounded wrong, as if she or one of her family was guilty.
‘But surely the doormat is the first place any intruder would look for a key?’ Andrew asked.
‘Agreed. If you knew the cottage was there, and that it was inhabited by an elderly lady with savings,’ Evans said. ‘It’s not exactly on the main street.’
‘Which seems to rule out a passing opportunist,’ the PC added.
‘But I can’t believe that anyone in our village would rob a frail old lady,’ Andrew said. ‘I just don’t believe it.’
‘I know it’s difficult and of course, she wasn’t just robbed. She was assaulted too – hit over the head with a large object.’
‘So she definitely didn’t fall then?’ Elizabeth asked clutching at straws. Clearly there was a lot in the inquiry that seemed to have already been confirmed.
‘She was hit with a heavy metal object,’ Evans said. ‘We’ve yet to find the weapon. But returning to Jacob, so we can eliminate him from the inquiry, where was he on the night of the break-in?’
‘At his girlfriend’s house,’ Andrew said.
‘Present or previous girlfriend?’ Evans asked in a deadpan voice.
‘His last girlfriend,’ Andrew replied before Elizabeth had a chance. ‘Her name is Eloise and he was going to stay the weekend.’
‘Going to?’ Evans queried.
‘They had an argument and Jacob returned home earlier than expected.’ Elizabeth winced; Andrew’s comment seemed to add to the poor image they were conveying of their son – not only did he change girlfriends regularly but he argued with them too.
‘It was his first proper relationship,’ Elizabeth said, trying to minimize the damage. ‘They met at university so it wasn’t likely to last. They didn’t argue much at all, but decided to go their separate ways.’
Evans nodded, possibly in agreement. ‘Do you have Eloise’s address please?’
‘I’m not sure I do any longer,’ Elizabeth said, keeping her gaze away from her address book. ‘I’d have to try to find it.’
‘The young lady’s surname and the town where she lives will be enough,’ Evans clarified.
‘Davies,’ Andrew said as Elizabeth hesitated. ‘And she lives in Sommersville. I’m sorry, I don’t know the postcode off by heart.’
‘Thank you. And Jacob is still off work sick at present?’
‘Yes,’ Andrew said. ‘He had a heart transplant. It’s a long road to full recovery.’
‘I’m sure it must be,’ Evans said.
‘My cousin had a kidney transplant,’ the PC offered. ‘Nearly five years ago. He’s fine now but it’s sad someone had to die for him to live.’
Andrew nodded while Elizabeth looked at her.
‘So what time did Jacob arrive home on that Saturday night?’ Evans now asked.
‘It was around midnight,’ Andrew said. ‘Liz and I had been out for dinner. Liz was in bed and I was in the bathroom getting ready when I heard her car pull up.’
‘Her car?’
‘Jacob was borrowing Liz’s car until he could afford his own.’
Evans nodded as the WPC wrote. ‘And did you see him come in?’
‘No, as I said I was in the bathroom getting ready. I went straight to bed.’
‘So neither of you actually saw Jacob that night?’
‘No, but I heard him come up to bed,’ Elizabeth said, thinking she was doing the right thing by Jacob. ‘He must have tripped over Mitsy – our dog. She often sleeps at the foot of the stairs. I heard Jacob on the stairs. Andrew was snoring.’
‘Do you know what time that was?’
‘Yes. My bedside clock showed two-thirty.’
‘So what would Jacob have been doing between arriving home and going to bed? Do you know?’
The silence seemed to grow as Elizabeth realized what she’d done. Far from helping Jacob she’d made matters worse. There was a two-and-a–half-hour gap. ‘Making a hot drink, I suppose. He usually had one when he came home.’
Evans nodded as the PC continued to write. ‘Could we have a look at his room now? And then we’ll leave you in peace.’
Elizabeth felt hot and uncomfortable. Maggie hadn’t said anything about the police looking at their sons’ rooms. It seemed Andrew felt the same.
‘Is it necessary?’ he asked. ‘I feel it’s an invasion of my son’s privacy as he’s not here.’
‘It would be helpful,’ Evans said. ‘But we could always come back another time.’
With a poorly disguised sigh Andrew stood. ‘We may as well do it now.’
‘His room will be messy,’ Elizabeth warned, also standing.
‘Show me a lad’s room that isn’t,’ Evans said affably.
She and Andrew led the way upstairs and into Jacob’s room, then they stood to one side as both officers began looking around. It felt awkward, unnatural, all being in there when they’d been going to such lengths to avoid Jacob’s room. ‘He likes a smoke then,’ Evans commented casually, sniffing the air.
‘I don’t know,’ Elizabeth said. ‘We give Jacob his privacy. He’s an adult.’
‘Sometimes,’ Andrew said, aware it was ludicrous to suggest they couldn’t smell the stale cannabis. ‘It helps with the pain from his transplant.’
Evans nodded; he had begun opening and closing various drawers and doors, his well-trained eye sweeping the contents as he went. He didn’t have a search warrant so if they objected he’d have to stop, but he doubted they would.
‘Nice view,’ the PC said, glancing out of the bedroom window.
‘Yes,’ Andrew said stiffly. ‘This room has the best view in the rectory.’
‘I see he’s studious then?’ Evans said, referring to the shelves of Jacob’s books from university.
‘Yes, he got a first at university,’ Elizabeth said proudly. ‘He had a promising career before he fell ill.’
‘But he’s recovering now?’ Evans asked, glancing over.
‘Yes.’
‘Has he got his laptop with him?’ Evans now asked, having seen the printer on the desk.
‘I think he must have,’ Andrew said.
Evans nodded and took a final glance around the room. ‘Thank you. We’re all done here.’ He led the way back downstairs.
Once in the living room, he thanked them again for their cooperation. ‘Enjoy the rest of your evening.’
>
‘Thank you,’ Andrew said. Elizabeth stood beside him as he opened the front door.
The officers stepped out. ‘Are both these cars yours?’ Evans asked, nodding to the two cars parked outside.
‘Yes,’ Andrew said. ‘That one’s mine and that’s my wife’s.’
‘So Jacob has his own car now?’
‘That’s correct,’ Andrew said.
‘Good night. Thanks again for your time. I hope Jacob makes a full recovery soon.’
Andrew nodded and closed the door.
DC Evans and PC Mandy Taylor didn’t speak again until they were in the car.
‘So what are they hiding?’ she asked.
Evans gave a low laugh. ‘Indeed. Good question. Privacy my arse. Not so squeaky clean now, is he? Smoking dope and downloading porn. You saw the printouts at the bottom of the wardrobe?’
‘Yes, dumped there in a quick tidy-up?’
‘Possibly. And he has his own car, yet he’s off on long-term sick. Perhaps Mummy and Daddy bought it for him, but I didn’t get that impression. He was borrowing his mother’s until he could afford a car of his own so I’d like to know where he got the money from.’
‘You should have asked,’ Mandy said with a smile. ‘It’s not like you to hold back.’
‘All in good time. We’ll visit Jacob first and see what he has to say for himself.’
‘His poor parents,’ Mandy sighed. ‘They seemed very anxious, especially his mother.’
‘Yes, but don’t feel too sorry for them. Whatever Jacob has done I’m pretty sure they have their suspicions and are covering up for him.’
‘She didn’t want us to speak to Eloise, that’s for sure,’ Mandy said. ‘If she had his most recent girlfriend’s address in her address book then surely she would have the old one’s? Even if she’d crossed it out. Jacob was seeing her for all the time he was at uni.’
‘Exactly. You’re not just a pretty face, are you?’ Evans said. ‘Sorry, strike that sexist remark from the record.’
‘I will,’ she laughed. ‘Don’t worry. I can take a joke.’
Chapter Forty-Three
‘Why didn’t you want them to have Eloise’s address?’ Andrew asked as they returned to the living room and sat by the hearth.
‘I couldn’t see what good it would do. I mean, they don’t see each other any more and it’s just raking up the past.’ She stared into the grey empty grate.
‘But Eloise can confirm where Jacob was that Saturday night – before he returned here. The police are being very thorough. We need to be honest.’
‘But supposing Eloise is still angry with Jacob for finishing with her?’ Elizabeth said not meeting his gaze. ‘She might say something horrible about him.’
‘Like what?’ Andrew asked puzzled.
Elizabeth shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’
‘If you’re worried give Eloise a ring and explain about the robbery, and that the police are eliminating all the young men in the village. I’m sure she’ll be reasonable. Probably best to phone her or it might come as a shock if the police just arrive.’ He looked at her carefully. ‘What is it, Liz? There’s something else worrying you.’
She finally looked up and met his gaze with a small nod. ‘The first time I visited Mary in hospital she was convinced it was Jacob’s voice she’d heard. That he was the one who broke into the cottage and hit her.’
‘And you told her it couldn’t possibly be him.’
‘Yes, and that he was away. But why would she say such a thing?’
‘She was confused,’ Andrew said. ‘Jacob used to visit her. He’s the lad she knows best in the village. She’d had a blow to the head and saw you sitting there. All those disjointed memories got jumbled up.’
Elizabeth gave another small nod. ‘She hasn’t mentioned it again.’
‘There you go. She’ll have forgotten she ever said it. Try not to worry. Mary’s old, bless her, and she had a dreadful shock. I’m still not convinced she was burgled, but the police have to do their job.’
Elizabeth managed a small muted smile and Andrew picked up the unread newspaper. How she would have liked to tell him what Eloise’s mother had said and unburden herself, but that couldn’t be so easily dismissed. Eloise wasn’t old and confused, she was a young, intelligent woman, sensitive and caring, and not known for hysteria or making things up. To share what had happened was to voice the unthinkable – that their son was now so evil he had attacked and raped his girlfriend.
‘Why don’t you give Eloise a ring now?’ Andrew asked, glancing up from the paper.
‘I’ll leave it until tomorrow. I need to think what to say and I’m rather tired.’
‘OK, love. I’m sure she’ll be fine. You always got on very well.’
‘Yes,’ Elizabeth agreed absently, and picked up one of the weekend supplements to give the appearance of being occupied.
Elizabeth went to bed early that night with a headache, but she didn’t sleep well. DC Evans’s voice juxtaposed with Eloise’s mother’s in a diatribe of accusations and blame, not just towards Jacob but to her too for concealing the truth. In between their condemnations were her ill-conceived replies to Evans’s questions. It would have been better if she’d said nothing for all the good she’d done Jacob. But she wasn’t sure Andrew had done much better with his responses. Lying there unable to sleep in the dead of night she was sure they were separately and jointly culpable, not only for their son’s behaviour but the web of lies and deceit that was now their life.
She began practising what she was going to say to Eloise, running through it in her mind over and over again, changing words, sentences, then starting all over again. None of it sounded right. Should she ask Eloise how she was and make small talk or get straight to the point? Or start by apologizing for Jacob? Not so long ago she’d have been able to chat easily to Eloise but now the words she needed failed her.
Elizabeth was up early in the morning, more exhausted than when she’d gone to bed. It was Sunday, Andrew’s busiest day. She cooked him breakfast, and as soon as he left to take the first communion at eight o’clock she psyched herself up to telephone Eloise and get it over with. But the call went through to her voicemail. She was probably still in bed on a Sunday; Elizabeth didn’t leave a message. If Eloise still had her number stored in her phone she’d see the missed call had been from her and hopefully phone her back.
When she’d heard nothing by nine o’clock Elizabeth phoned again and this time it rang out. Had Eloise recognized the number and not answered? Then before she left for the mid-morning service – the one she usually attended and which Eloise and Jacob had accompanied her to – she tried yet again. This time when the call went through to voicemail she left a message. ‘Eloise, it’s Liz, Jacob’s mother. I hope you are keeping well. I need to talk to you about something important. Could you phone me back please? I’m going to church now but will be home by lunchtime. Thank you, love.’
She waited to see if Eloise would return her call straightaway, but when she didn’t she left her phone on the table and went to church.
She heard very little of Andrew’s sermon; her thoughts kept returning to the conversation she needed to have with Eloise. After the service she didn’t mingle with the groups of parishioners but went straight home and checked her phone. Nothing from Eloise but a text message from David: Thought this might interest you. The best case yet of cellular memory. It was followed by a link to an online article. She’d read it later; Eloise was her priority for now.
She made herself a cup of coffee and then sat at the kitchen table, sipping it and wondering when she could reasonably phone Eloise again. Her thoughts went to the congregation still outside the church chatting in their small groups, discussing the police’s visit to the village the night before, and more specifically discussing Jacob. Everyone was sure to know. She could guess at their speculation, made even more exciting because he was the Reverend’s son. She’d felt that with Evans’s visit too – that his inter
est had been piqued by Jacob’s father being a reverend, because from what Maggie had said his visit to her sons had been short and perfunctory. Perhaps she was imagining it, unless of course Jacob was their prime suspect. Her head was throbbing again and she took two painkillers with the last of her coffee, then went through to the living room where she sat down in an armchair and closed her eyes.
Andrew was out for most of the day on parish business and Elizabeth wasn’t expecting him home until the early evening. Slightly refreshed from a short nap she checked her phone and then set about some housework, the volume on her phone set to loud so she could hear it as she moved around. An hour or so later she sat down again to read the online article David had sent about cellular memory.
It was a scholarly article and some of the scientific data was difficult to understand but the findings were clear. David was right to enthuse, it was the best reported case yet that she knew of. The partner of a man who’d received a transplanted heart had been pregnant, and when the foetus was tested for the gene that had caused the father’s heart defect it was found that their DNA didn’t match. He couldn’t possibly be the father of the unborn baby. He accused his partner of having an affair but she adamantly maintained she hadn’t. More tests were run on him and the present results compared with those before the transplant. Not only had his blood group changed but there were significant changes in his DNA too. His DNA prior to the transplant matched that of the baby. More follow-up work needed to be done, the article said, and while this wasn’t conclusive proof, all the indicators were that cellular memory was responsible. The implications for the future of transplant work were far-reaching, it concluded.
Elizabeth resisted phoning Eloise again until three o’clock when she thought she must have listened to her voice message by now. With her hand trembling and her heart racing she pressed Eloise’s number, and this time after a couple of rings Eloise’s small voice answered, ‘Hello Liz. What do you want?’
‘Thank you for answering. How are you?’
‘All right,’ Eloise said, her voice flat.
‘I need your help. I’m sorry things ended badly between you and Jacob but I have to ask you something.’ She knew she was gabbling but she needed to get it out quickly. ‘The last time you saw Jacob there was a robbery in our village at Acorn Cottage – Mary, you knew her.’ She paused but Eloise didn’t respond. ‘The police think it might have been a lad in his twenties so they are visiting all the young men in the village and checking their alibis. Jacob was with you for part of that evening so we’ve had to give them your contact details. I’m not asking you to lie, but could you not mention the other stuff, the things that your mother told me? It will reflect badly on Jacob.’ She stopped, hot and uncomfortable. Eloise would understand, wouldn’t she?