Death In The Closet (Edward Crisp Mysteries Book 3)

by Peter Boon

  But Fiona wasn’t done. ‘Oh, it’s okay. Edward’s friend Patrick saw you too. He’s over there dancing with everyone, but he should be able to clear it up.’ She went through the whole pantomime of standing up to get him.

  ‘Alright, alright, sit down,’ he hissed at her. ‘Yes, I was there, briefly. I just popped in to see Chloe and some of the other girls for an hour.’

  ‘No, I don’t think so. I was with Chloe, or in sight of her, for most of the night. I didn’t see you with her at any point.’

  ‘Look, what’s this about?’ I examined his demeanour as he spoke. It was a combination of anger, embarrassment and… sadness?

  ‘I’ll tell you what it’s about,’ Fiona started, but I nudged her to stop her. I had something to say instead.

  ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

  ‘Sorry, what?’ He definitely wasn’t expecting that.

  ‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ I repeated gently. ‘If we’re right about why you were there last night, this must be a terrible time for you. I can’t even imagine. And I just wanted to say I’m really sorry.’

  Troy looked like the world had crashed in on him. When he spoke, he sounded completely different from before. Emptier. ‘You know nothing. Just leave it alone. Please.’

  ‘Hi guys, what’s going on here, exactly?’

  I looked up to see Chloe back at the table, standing over us all with a big smile which didn’t look too genuine. I wasn’t sure what to do and hoped either Troy or Fiona would take the lead. Fiona and Troy were apparently best friends, but that didn’t mean she knew about any relationship he might have with Kieron, especially as he’d been engaged to one of her other best friends.

  The few seconds’ silence felt like a few minutes. Was no one going to speak?

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Nothing, hun,’ Troy said unconvincingly. ‘Fiona was just trying to find out some gossip about one of my gay friends but I don’t know anything.’

  Chloe put her hands up on her hips and lifted her head high in a gesture of superiority. ‘Oh, was she? You’d think after last night’s tragedy, spreading gossip would be the last thing she’d be doing.’

  But I’d quickly learned that Fiona wasn’t one to stand down easily. ‘That’s not exactly what we were talking about, was it, Troy?’

  He looked between the women, completely unsure of himself. I imagined it wasn’t a position he was in often.

  Chloe quickly ended the stalemate and took charge of the situation. ‘I need a bit of a fresh air I think. Troy, be a love and come with me.’

  He made to stand up but didn’t make it that far before we were interrupted again, this time by a shout from across the room.

  ‘Chloe! Who are these prats on the door? They tried to stop me from coming in. Don’t they know who I am?’

  The person responsible for this cringeworthy line was Danny Higgins, who had at least two buttons undone on his shirt, and looked much the worse for wear as he staggered over.

  Chloe looked mortified. Suddenly, Troy’s run-in with us was the least of her worries. ‘Baby, what are you doing? I thought you weren’t coming.’

  Danny was at least six feet tall and I remember the sense of him towering over us all despite wobbling as he spoke. ‘What, and miss the special occasion? I mean, my best friend’s dead, why not celebrate? That’s what you’re all doing, isn’t it?’

  Chloe moved closer to face him. ‘Danny, either sit the hell down and stop embarrassing yourself, or get the hell out.’

  Fiona raised her eyebrows at me, no doubt noting as I was the lack of empathy Chloe had for her grieving fiancé. Danny ignored her and grabbed one of the champagne bottles, swigging straight from it.

  ‘To Kieron!’ He shouted this so loud that the other tables and people on the dancefloor stared over. Chloe grabbed the bottle, and he pulled it away, trying to stop her. There was a struggle for a few seconds before the bottle fell to the floor with a smash.

  ‘Now look what you’ve done, you idiot! You couldn’t just keep it together, could you?’ She gave him a little shove as she said those last two words. He instinctively pushed her back, and she fell into the seat behind her.

  Troy jumped up and put his hand on Danny’s shoulder to move him away. Danny was too quick for him and pushed him. But it was the words that went with it that stuck in my memory the most.

  ‘Don’t touch me, you bender!’

  I didn’t stop Mum when she marched back from the dancefloor and slapped him.

  19

  ‘What you said is completely unacceptable, buddy. Even if you’re grieving for Kieron. Hell, even if you blame Troy for Kieron. Still completely unacceptable.’

  Danny looked completely bewildered. ‘What… how the hell do you know I blame Troy?’

  ‘It doesn’t take a genius to work out from the way you treated him,’ Patrick snapped. ‘We’ve worked out they were having an affair. And now we know you knew, too.’

  ‘I didn’t mean to call him that,’ he mumbled back, almost to himself. I could smell the whisky on his breath, even with Patrick in between us.

  Patrick and I had dragged Danny out of the bar as fast as we could. Despite his complaints and drunken threats, we’d walked him as far away as we could get him. The three of us were now sitting on the pebbled beach, each throwing stones towards the sea as the sun set above us. There was a bit of a chill in the air, and I shivered every so often.

  ‘You know, it’s probably because of language like you used Kieron stayed in the closet,’ Patrick continued, as he threw the pebbles more forcefully. ‘Small mindedness, bigoted. Is that what are you are, Danny? I didn’t think you were, and I don’t think any of your fans would either. You’re not Ricky Roberts, surely that’s not how you think? Is that what you think of your best mate? Because he went to his death at the bottom of that cliff because of views like that. You should be ashamed.’

  ‘Patrick, come on, easy.’ I’d rarely seen Patrick so angry in our thirteen years of friendship.

  ‘I won’t go easy, Edward. Why should I? The number of kids in lessons I’ve picked up for casual homophobia. “This lesson is so gay,” “stop tackling like a gay boy,” “pass the ball, you poofter!” I know you’ve heard it in the library before too. I love football, but so much needs to change in it. How can there be no openly gay players? I’ll tell you how. Because of hateful rubbish like Danny spouted in there. Someone like Kieron as a role model could have helped changed people’s attitudes. But he’s gone. And Danny gets to still be here saying homophobic crap like that. It stinks.’ He got up and stormed away towards the sea, kicking pebbles under his feet as he went.

  We’d already seen Danny’s volatile reactions while drunk, so I was wary of how he might react to Patrick’s speech. I was shocked to see him sobbing quietly, with his head on his knees. Patrick’s departure had left a gap between us, and I felt too awkward to move up and fill it. I barely knew him and didn’t really know what to do.

  Why did every murder case result in someone crying in front of me? Noah’s approach to our ‘mysteries’ sometimes makes me treat them as a puzzle to be solved, which in a way they are. But Danny’s raw grief was a stark reminder that every single murder we’d encountered was much more than that.

  ‘Patrick’s just angry,’ I offered.

  ‘No, he’s right. Why should I still be here? It shouldn’t be him, it should be me.’ He cried louder as my discomfort level increased. I could see Patrick’s figure in front of me, throwing stones into the sea.

  ‘Don’t say that,’ I said awkwardly.

  ‘It should be. It’s my fault he’s dead.’

  I understood that this was a common reaction when mourning, but when the deceased had been murdered, these comments could take on a different meaning.

  I considered Danny as a suspect, and where he might fit into what had happened. I remembered Noah’s notes about him from earlier that day.

  Danny Higgins. Kieron’s best friend. Knew his secret already? N
eed to confirm. Other motive?

  He did indeed know Kieron’s secret already. Ellie claimed to have found out from Chloe, and his reaction to Troy just now, disgusting homophobia aside, suggested that he knew about that too.

  I could see his words about being his fault weren’t literal; I didn’t think he had a motive to kill his best friend unless I was to unearth anything else. What I saw in front of me was someone devastated about his friend’s death.

  ‘It’s not your fault.’

  He lifted his head up and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. ‘You don’t think I’m the murderer, then?’

  This threw me for a second. I wasn’t sure who knew that this was now a murder case. He must have noticed the look on my face.

  ‘Relax, it’s not me. We had some cocky DI at our house for over two hours this afternoon taking our statements, that’s how I know. Said his team was talking to everyone at the club in the next couple of days. It was in our group chat almost instantly, so all the club knows.’ This topic had distracted him a little, and he’d stopped crying.

  ‘The press and public don’t know yet though?’ I was almost certain that they didn’t.

  He laughed as he wiped his eyes again. ‘Jackie Luton was straight on our case, don’t you worry. The club is crapping themselves about what this is going to do to the club’s reputation. But it won’t take long. Everyone will know soon.’

  ‘Like I said, it wasn’t your fault. I know how people feel when someone close to them dies, or worse, is murdered. Everyone feels guilty.’ As I grew more comfortable, I moved up into the gap Patrick had left behind.

  ‘They haven’t got as much to feel guilty about as I have.’ His head went back to his knees, and I thought he might start crying again.

  I put my hand on his shoulder as I spoke again. ‘Haven’t they? Look, Danny. Whoever killed Kieron, that’s who is to blame. Not you, if you didn’t do it. Which I don’t think you did.’

  He grinned. ‘Thanks. But I don’t mean that. Whatever the motive, it was of a direct result of Ellie outing him.’

  ‘Which came from Chloe, and before that, I think I’m safe to assume: you.’

  He nodded into his knees. ‘Yes. It came from Chloe. From me and Chloe.’

  I felt a shiver from the wind which was picking up. ‘Yes, and if that led to Chloe’s announcement, which led to Kieron’s death, that’s a chain of events. Don’t you think every link in that chain feels guilty? Chloe. Ellie. Troy even. Everyone shows it in their own ways. You went out and got drunk. Chloe’s hosting a champagne party. Ellie’s disappeared off the face of the earth. Everyone feels guilty, and it’s natural.’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ he replied, lifting his head to face me. ‘Unless one of those people murdered him.’

  He made a good point.

  ‘I appreciate you being nice,’ he continued, ‘but there’s a lot you don’t know about me: the life I lead and the things I’ve done. Not everyone would think I’m a very nice person.’

  Was this a murderer’s confession? On the surface it sounded like it; someone like Mum would slap the handcuffs on him by now.

  But no, I recognised this as more guilt. I recalled Patrick and Fiona’s stories about him and Chloe, and the things he allegedly got up to: wild nights, other women, cheating, not to mention his homophobic outburst just now. Whereas Kieron had barely put a foot wrong. This was survivor’s guilt.

  ‘Danny, like I said, it’s not your fault, unless you’re the one who murdered him. It’s that person and that person alone.’

  He stared at the purple sky ahead of us as the sun continued to set. A couple of minutes passed where neither of us spoke. Throughout that time, I felt like he was about to say something, but he didn’t. I saw Patrick turn and make his way back up the beach; I could immediately tell he was much calmer.

  He went straight to Danny, crouching down on the pebbles in front of him. ‘What you said, it was disgusting. Language like that makes people angry. Quite rightly.’

  Danny hung his head and replied in a murmur. ‘I know.’

  ‘I know you do. And I know that’s not you. That’s no excuse though, you still said it. Whatever made you say that, no, whatever made you think like that, it’s up to you to address that and deal with it.’ Despite Danny’s grief, Patrick wasn’t making this easy. I wished he’d been the one to hear Appleby’s similar remark earlier.

  ‘I will.’ I heard his phone vibrate in his pocket.

  ‘But I shouldn’t have kicked off at you, and I’m sorry for that. And me and Edward, we are both so sorry for Kieron’s death. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for you. Believe me, though, you won’t have to worry about the murderer. Because even if the police can’t work out who did it, I guarantee you, Edward Crisp will. You wouldn’t believe the last couple of mysteries he’s solved.’

  Danny stared at me. ‘Edward Crisp… I knew last night I knew you from somewhere. The amateur detective.’

  ‘Well, erm… not formally,’ I stuttered nervously. I was still uncomfortable when I was recognised like this. ‘Murder just seems to follow me round.’

  ‘You’re not kidding,’ Patrick said. ‘You all should have ran for the hills as soon as he arrived for that event last night.’

  The two of them laughed, but I found the joke a little awkward under the circumstances. Danny’s phone buzzed again in his pocket and he finally lifted it out to read his messages.

  ‘Seriously though, buddy,’ Patrick continued. ‘If there is anything you can think of to help, Edward’s the man to tell.’

  ‘I told that DI Appleby guy a lot. I didn’t like him though, and I don’t think he liked me. He said he wanted to make sure he saw me personally.’ I was still trying to work Danny out. Was he a good man? Probably overall. But I saw a fragile ego and low self-esteem despite his fame. I could see why he and Appleby would clash.

  ‘I wouldn’t worry. He had a warrant out for my arrest when our Head Teacher at school was murdered last year,’ Patrick said with a laugh. That seemed surreal now. ‘He knows nothing. But Edward does.’

  As Patrick spoke, I realised something which amused me. ‘Danny, you want to know something you and Appleby have in common? You both got a slap from my mum.’

  The three of us laughed together, the tension broken. Danny seemed a little more relaxed when he next spoke. ‘What do you want to know?’

  I looked at his phone in his hands. This was my chance. ‘This is probably an invasion of Kieron’s privacy, but I only ask because there might be something in there that might help us. I promise if you say yes it won’t go any further.’

  Danny looked at me dubiously. ‘Go on?’

  ‘I think Kieron showed you his planned coming out statement that Ellie mentioned on the microphone. Can I read it?’

  20

  THE TIME IS NOW…

  25 years is a long time to hide who you really are. A quarter of a century with a secret like a weight round your neck. But not for any longer.

  I’m gay.

  Being able to say those two words releases me from so much anxiety and upset. I can never explain how difficult it is to carry round this secret. Every day, every interaction, every relationship in my life is tainted by it.

  And why have I put myself through this until now? Why have I hurt a woman I care about along the way? Surely the easiest thing in the world is to just be who I am.

  The answer is football. Football has been my life for as long as I can remember, but it is a life which I always thought doesn’t fit a gay man. As soon as you score that first goal, impress that first coach or walk into that first dressing room, there is an unspoken expectation to live your life a certain way. Being attracted to other men doesn’t fit that expectation. Or so I thought.

  It’s taken me until now to realise that it doesn’t matter. I’m me first, and a professional footballer second.

  It’s finally time to be who I was born to be.

  The time is now…

  21

&n
bsp; WAS MURDERED FOOTBALLER GAY?

  Premiership footballer Kieron Juniper is believed to have been murdered, Sussex Police suggested in a press conference this morning. The Beachy Head United star’s vehicle was tampered with before he left a private function at the stadium on Friday evening.

  An anonymous source has suggested that there was a public row at the event which revealed that Juniper, 25, engaged to Ellie Marsden, was really GAY.

  It is understood that he was about to come out soon, but his fiancée found out first. If this is true, Kieron Juniper would have made history as the first ever Premier League footballer to be openly gay.

  This of course brings in to question the motive for his murder; was this a homophobic attack?

  If you have any information which might assist this enquiry, please contact Sussex Police on the number below.

  Comments

  Poor Kieron, what he must have gone through. RIP.

  The poor girlfriend. That’s who I feel sorry for.

  The main issue here is that he was murdered. Why is this other rumour even being reported?

  Chloe will be able to solve this I bet! Wagatha Christie! #WagathaChristie

  Murdered for his sexuality in 2021. This story needs to be as big as George Floyd. We want justice.

  Mistake there I’m sure. No way he’s gay, too great a player.

  What’s that supposed to mean?

  Exactly. Great footballers can’t be gay?

  LOL he’s right not really. Name one. I’ll wait lol

  True hero on and off the pitch. We wouldn’t have cared who you were. We still loved you.

  Awful end for the man who made BH United what it is.

  Are Danny and Chloe doing okay? Danny was close to him xoxo

  Chloe on the case – Wagatha Christie! #WagathaChristie

  Stop trying to make that hashtag happen. It’s not gonna work lol

  It’s already working hun! #WagathaChristie

  Years after Fashanu, another coming out ending in tragedy.