Unfinished Business

by Heather Atkinson

  “So she didn’t get involved in anything illegal when she was younger?”

  Elspeth’s gaze fixated on his face, her eyes narrowing over her long, sharp nose. “Why would she? What is this all about?”

  “Like I said, we’re just trying to get some background.”

  “Crap. I want to know what’s going on and I want to know now.”

  Hearing her mistresses’ tone, the black cat raised its head and stared at him suspiciously.

  Brodie cleared his throat and glanced at Cass, whose big eyes danced with amusement. “Mark and Sarah have been having some issues and we’re trying to help resolve them.”

  “What sort of issues?”

  “Something from Mark’s past.”

  “So why are you asking about Sarah?”

  “I want some background on them both to help me get a better picture of their lives together.”

  “Bollocks,” she said, surprising them. “What’s she done?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You come round here asking me if she’s got a criminal record and you’re telling me she’s done nothing?”

  “She hasn’t. It’s Mark actually.”

  “Oh really?” she said triumphantly. Even the black cat seemed to give him a satisfied smile. “Surely you’re not going to tell me that long streak of piss has done something bad?”

  “He hasn’t.”

  “If you’re going to lie to me then you can leave right now.”

  “Fine, come on Cass,” he said.

  “No, wait,” called Elspeth when they both walked towards the door. “Sit down.”

  “Where?” scowled Brodie. “Apparently all the seats belong to the cats.”

  Elspeth shot to her feet, scattering cats everywhere, causing them all to hiss and spit. She knocked Buster off his throne and took his vacant seat then gestured to the empty couch. “There.”

  The black cat hissed at Brodie as he walked past it to the couch and he gave it a wide berth, fearing it would suddenly launch itself at him. It was an evil-looking thing.

  “Now,” said Elspeth, regaining her ladylike composure. “You want to know about Sarah? I’ll tell you. She got up to mischief did that little madam. Nothing too serious - she got in with a bad crowd who hung around parks drinking cider and vandalising things. Once she got caught stealing a bottle of vodka from the corner shop but compared to some of her school friends it was nothing. Richard gave her a huge telling off, which had a big impact on her because he never shouted. I’ve never known him so furious. Didn’t do much good though. If Sarah wants to do something she’ll do it and sod the consequences. She was good for a few weeks but she soon slipped back into her old ways, staying out late with boys, drinking.”

  “The usual teenage stuff you mean,” commented Cass.

  “Oh it speaks,” said Elspeth. “I was starting to think you were mute. It might have been usual to you young lady but in my book it’s a disgrace.”

  “Thrown any cats at people lately?” she replied with a curl of the lip.

  Elspeth shot to her feet, trembling with a rage that she clearly had trouble containing. “How dare you speak to me like that in my own home? I’ll slap that pretty face pink.”

  Similarly Cass got to her feet. “I’d love to see you try.”

  Elspeth stared back at Cass, suddenly not looking so sure of herself, all her intuition as an old scrapper sensing what she was capable of. “Sit back down. You’re scaring my cats.”

  Cass looked to Brodie, who nodded.

  “Do you need his permission?” exclaimed Elspeth.

  “No,” retorted Cass. “But he is my boss. I thought he might have had enough of your fucking mouth.”

  Contrary to Brodie’s expectations, Elspeth released a howl of laughter and patted Cass on the arm. “Sit down love, you’re alright.”

  She sank back onto the couch, which was coated in cat hairs.

  Elspeth retook her seat and patted her hair, taking a moment to calm down before continuing. “Sarah’s a bully too, or at least she was. She’s grown up a little bit I suppose,” she said grudgingly. “She terrorised the other local girls. She might be small but she’s got a big gob and that was enough to make people think she was capable of a good scrap. She was too, she took after me that way,” said Elspeth proudly. “Richard’s such a wimp, like Mark. I think that’s why she married him, because of some weird daddy complex.” Elspeth smiled wickedly and leaned forward in her seat. “If you really want to know what Sarah’s capable of you should talk to Katie Marsh. She lives three doors down from me. When Richard reached the end of his tether with Sarah and wanted to get her away from her horrible friends he used to send her here for a few days. Sarah and Katie were of the same age so it was only natural they ended up becoming friends. One day they had a big fallout over a boy Sarah liked but who preferred Katie, supposedly. Sarah hit the poor girl and pulled some of her hair out. Then she really lost it and her temper’s horrible when she gets going. Sarah did something awful to that girl, or so Katie said.”

  Brodie and Cass leaned forwards in their seat. “What did she do?” said Brodie.

  “Something bad,” whispered Elspeth with a chilling smile.

  “What?” pressed Brodie.

  Elspeth broke eye contact and sat back in her seat, suddenly looking bored. “You’ll have to ask Katie that.”

  “Why can’t you tell us?”

  “Because Katie was unstable herself. She was sort of obsessed with Sarah. A lot of people thought she was making it up because Sarah said she didn’t want to be friends with her anymore. She got sick of Katie hanging round her all the time and copying her. She even cut her hair short and dyed it blond, like Sarah’s. It was weird.”

  “So you think there was no truth to the allegations?” said Brodie.

  Elspeth’s eyebrows went up. “So you are a copper?”

  “Used to be,” he replied.

  “What are you now, a private investigator?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like Magnum?” she sneered.

  He folded his arms across his chest. “No, not really. You think Katie made it all up?”

  “I didn’t say that,” she replied, enjoying being mysterious. “Sarah has a vicious side but I’m not sure even she’s capable of what Katie accused her of.”

  “And what was that?”

  The fluffy grey cat jumped back onto her lap and she stroked it absently. “Like I said, ask Katie.”

  “Why won’t you tell us?”

  “Hear it from her then you can decide whether she’s telling the truth or not. Anyway, after the ’incident’ Katie was a nervous wreck. Still lives with her mum and dad even though she’s nearly thirty. Hardly goes out, had a couple of boyfriends but nothing serious.”

  “Thank you, we’ll speak to Katie. Is there any other family Sarah’s close to?”

  “No. She has cousins in America on her mum’s side but she’s not seen them since she was tiny, they never visit.”

  “Have you ever met Mark’s family?”

  Elspeth’s lips pursed. “Twice. Dreadful people, especially the mother, Maggie. We didn’t get along.”

  Brodie could just imagine those two formidable women grating against each other.

  “Lauren’s a sweet girl I suppose,” she continued. “But odd. She lets her hideous mother boss her about and she’s terrified of her other brother, who’s clearly demented.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “He just has a bad aura. Sometimes the look in his eye…” She trailed off thoughtfully.

  “So you’ve never seen him do anything bad?”

  “I don’t need to see him do it to know he’s capable.”

  “Mark doesn’t have that aura?”

  “No but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of bad things. Everyone has their dark side, even lanky, wet strings of piss like that.”

  An eerie hissing sound had them all turning in their seats to see Buster and the malevolent black cat s
quaring up to each other, hackles rising, tails straight up in the air. Brodie thought the black cat looked almost satanic with its blazing green eyes. Buster must be mental for taking it on, even though he was the bigger cat.

  In response Elspeth picked up a cushion off the couch and hurled it at the cats, who jumped away from each other, the cushion landing on the floor between them, sending them scattering in opposite directions, the black cat still hissing like a mad kettle.

  “Little bastards, they’re always having a go at each other are those two. I don’t know why Buster keeps going back for more, he always gets his fat arse kicked. Maleficent is a real bitch.”

  “I’ll bet,” said Brodie. He got to his feet. “Thank you Elspeth, we appreciate you talking to us.”

  “Go on, tell me what Mark’s done.”

  “We’re just trying to ascertain something that happened in his past.”

  “I knew it, he’s dodgy.”

  “Thank you for your time,” he said before heading for the door.

  “I’ll find out anyway,” she called after him.

  Something black shot out in front of Brodie, tripping him and he had to grasp onto the doorframe to stop himself from falling over. There was a flash of green eyes and sharp white teeth, the cat hissed at him and Cass sniggered. Angrily he wrenched the front door open and stomped outside.

  “Let’s go and see Katie Marsh,” he growled.

  “I hope she doesn’t have any cats,” commented Cass.

  The house they approached three doors down was absolutely identical to Elspeth’s - a detached soulless box. The door was opened by a mousy-haired woman who blinked up at them timidly from under a frizzy fringe. “Hello?”

  “Katie Marsh?”

  She nodded, eyes suspicious, hand on the door ready to slam it shut should it become necessary.

  “My name’s Brodie MacBride and this is my associate, Cass Carlisle. We wondered if we could talk to you about Sarah Creegan. You might know her better as Sarah Tindell.”

  “Why would I want to talk about her? I’ve not done anything, I told her I wouldn’t,” she said, brown eyes bulging.

  Cass and Brodie glanced at each other.

  “No one’s saying you did,” said Cass. “We’d just like to talk, that’s all.”

  “I don’t understand why,” said Katie, doing a good impression of someone who was about to slam the door in the faces.

  “We’re trying to get some information about her past.”

  “Are you police?” she said, suddenly looking more interested.

  “I used to be,” replied Brodie. “I’m a private investigator now.”

  “Is she in some sort of trouble?” Katie’s eyes were practically shining with malice.

  “No, at least, I hope not.”

  She chewed her lip thoughtfully before saying, “come in.” She strode back into the house, leaving them to close the door behind them. They paused in the hallway and stared at all the closed doors, unsure of which way she’d gone. Katie’s head popped out of a door to their left. “Through here.”

  Brodie and Cass entered a room that was the complete opposite to Elspeth’s. There was stuff everywhere - old newspapers, magazines, tacky ornaments that looked like they’d come from a pound shop. Chinzy plates depicting places the family had probably never been covered one entire wall showing The Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids of Giza, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben and many more. The couches were covered in huge, overstuffed furry cushions in a gaudy pink and the matching rug on the floor was so busy it gave Brodie a headache.

  He could sense Cass bristling beside him. She had always considered interior design vital in a home and she had great taste. This must be torture for her.

  “Make this quick, Mum and Dad will be back soon,” said Katie, eyes slipping to the window then back to Brodie. “So what’s she done?”

  “Nothing,” he replied.

  Katie appeared crestfallen. “Oh. Then what is this about?”

  “We’re investigating on behalf of her family and some background into her childhood would help us no end.”

  “I don’t know if I should. Sarah wouldn’t like it.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “Not for years. I was fifteen.”

  “That’s a long time.”

  “Not to me.”

  “I promise not to tell her we were here, how’s that?” said Brodie, flashing his best smile.

  Katie looked up at him coyly and smiled back. “Okay, as long as you promise, hand on heart.”

  He placed his hand on his chest and put on his most solemn expression. “I swear on my life.”

  This satisfied her. “What do you want to know?”

  “We heard you had a falling out with Sarah when you were young,” began Brodie.

  Katie nodded, swallowing nervously and picking at her fingernails.

  “Can you explain what happened?” he said gently. He could sense how fragile she was, in fact she reminded him of Lauren Creegan, so he knew he had to go easy.

  “She…she thought a boy she liked fancied me,” she began, blushing.

  “Did he?”

  Katie nodded, big watery eyes continuously blinking, a nervous gesture. “I know you probably don’t believe it to look at me but me and him liked the same things. He was into computer games too. Sarah thought they were stupid, she used to make fun of me for liking them, said I should get a life, but she didn’t know Patrick liked them too. When she found out that he did she started asking me lots of questions about the games and started to play, trying to pretend she’d been into them for ages but Patrick wasn’t fooled. He was so handsome,” she said dreamily. “I never thought a boy like him would fancy me but he did. Sarah couldn’t believe it either. She’d gone to so much trouble to try and get him to notice her but he never did. It was me he liked,” she said defiantly. “Sarah wasn’t happy. She blamed me. She got angry and…”

  “And what?” said Brodie encouragingly when she trailed off.

  “She hurt me,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER 11

  The room went silent when the front door banged open, followed by the sound of a man and a woman bickering.

  “Mum and Dad are home,” said Katie.

  Brodie’s heart sank, certain the interview was over.

  In walked a middle-aged couple laden down with shopping bags.

  “We got your Complan Katie…oh, I didn’t know we had company,” said the woman, an older version of her daughter with her thick glasses and frizzy hair.

  “It’s alright. This is my mum, Sally. Mum, this is Mr Brodie and his friend…sorry I’ve forgotten your name,” she said to Cass. “Nothing personal, my memory’s shocking.”

  “Cass Carlisle,” she said pleasantly, extending her hand to Katie’s mother. “This is my boss, Brodie MacBride.”

  “I thought you said his name was Mr Brodie?” said Sally.

  “Brodie’s his first name,” explained Cass, knowing how much the widespread confusion over his name annoyed him.

  “Sorry,” said Katie.

  “It’s okay, I get it a lot,” he smiled.

  “So you’re both friends of Katie’s?” said Sally. “Good, it’s about time she brought some friends round, she’s on her own so much with her silly games. It’s ridiculous at her age, computer games are something little boys play with…”

  “I’m George, Katie’s dad,” said the man standing behind Sally. “Just ignore my wife, she does go on.”

  “Hey…”

  “Enough Sally, I’ve had your wittering all bloody day and I can’t take another second.”

  Cass hid her smile at the sight of the small, grey haired man putting the big, blousy brunette in her place. It worked too because Sally went quiet.

  “What can we do for you?” said George.

  “We just wanted to have a chat with Katie, that’s all,” said Brodie.

  “Are you her boyfriend? It’s about time,” grinned Sally. “I
’m a sucker for a Scottish accent.”

  “Mum, he’s a private investigator,” said Katie, mortified.

  “A private investigator?” repeated Sally, looking appalled. “Katie, what have you done?”

  “Nothing. They want to know about Sarah.”

  “Sarah? Sarah who?” Realisation dawned and Sally’s eyes widened. “What do you mean by coming here and dragging up old hurts Mr Brodie? Katie’s put that behind her, she’s moved on and you rake it all up again.” She turned to her daughter. “Don’t you worry love, I’ll get rid of them for you.”

  “I don’t need you to get rid of them. I’m twenty nine, old enough to deal with things on my own.”

  “I know that sweetheart but Sarah Tindell…”

  “What did she do?” said Brodie when mother and daughter went quiet and stared at each other.

  “She hurt Katie badly,” said George when the two women didn’t speak.

  “May we ask how?” said Cass.

  “Not until you tell us exactly why you’re here,” retorted George.

  “I can’t give you any details because of client confidentiality,” said Brodie. “But please be assured that we only have your daughter’s best interests at heart.”

  “You’ve been talking to the mad cat lady, haven’t you?” said Sally.

  “I assume you mean Elspeth?”

  “Yes I do. She’s been blabbing again. You’d almost think she was proud of what her niece did.”

  “She told us part of the story but she said we had to ask Katie if we wanted to know the whole story. What did Sarah do?” said Brodie.

  “Why should we tell you? Unless you’re going to make sure she’s finally punished for it,” said Sally.

  “I can’t decide that until I know what she did.”

  “Mum, I want to tell him,” said Katie.

  “Why?” she demanded, hands on hips.

  “Because I’ve avoided the subject for nearly fifteen years. I think it would help to talk about it with someone I don’t know, someone who won’t judge me.”

  Sally looked heartbroken. “I’ve never judged you sweetie, it wasn’t your fault.”

  “I know but it’s always there, the elephant in the room and I’m sick of it. I want it gone.”