“And that was?”
“You.” Ruth smiled.
Calladine racked his brain trying to recall the case. “It was twenty-odd years ago. I hope you’re not expecting me to remember much about it.”
“Check your old notebooks, you might find a reference to the incident in one of them. Don’t you recall anything off the top of your head?”
“Nothing that might help you now.” He thought for a moment. “I do remember the house though — big, gaunt-looking thing up in the hills. Gave me the creeps.”
“You were told that Jade and another girl were injured, you must have done something about that, Tom. I can’t find a file on the incident or any records to suggest anyone was hurt. So we need your old notes. I want to know what your thinking was on that day.”
“Look, I know exactly where my old notebooks are, filed away in the stores downstairs. They’re in chronological order, but given the state of those cellars, it’ll still be a job to find that particular one. If I do, I might be able to help you.”
The last thing Calladine wanted to be doing was rooting around in the archives, but he knew Ruth. She wasn’t going to let up. He trudged off to the station cellars to search. There, he headed for the boxes at the back of the room. Each one was labelled, and he ran his hand along them as he passed. A huge part of his working life was contained in those boxes. It gave him an odd feeling. He began to wonder how long it could continue, how many more boxes would be added, then he shook himself. This wasn’t getting the job done.
He came back within the hour, carrying the relevant book in his hand. “I’ve written here that I put the incident down to a wind-up.” He smiled. “I was a smartly dressed rookie detective still finding his feet in CID, few took me seriously back them. A girl called Sarah Hammond collared me on the road leading up to the cottage. She told me that two of her friends had been attacked by Millie Reed — that they were injured. Me and two uniforms went straight up there.”
“What did you find?”
He pointed to a page in the notebook. “Nowt. It says here Agnes Reed was making the tea and the girl, Millie, wasn’t even home. As we left, we saw her walking up the lane on her way back from school. She was some distance away, but it was Millie right enough. The granny hadn’t the foggiest idea what I was talking about. My notes say that I reckoned that Sarah was having us on. She’d sent me off on a wild goose chase — bloody good actress to fool me like that.”
“Did you speak to Millie?” Ruth asked.
“No point. The granny had told us all we needed to know, and it was obvious that Sarah had lied. Millie wasn’t even there when the incident was supposed to have happened.”
“What about Jade O’Brien? Speak to her?”
“Eventually, yes — in a manner of speaking. I caught up with her a couple of days later but didn’t question her. She’d gone with her mother to A&E. Another overdose, it says here.”
Ruth’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you follow up with Jade? Find out if she was injured too.”
Calladine flipped through his notes. “I thought she looked okay. By the time I found her at the hospital it was two days later and the middle of the night. She was half asleep by her mother’s bed.”
“You didn’t check? Didn’t even try to speak to her?”
“Apparently not.” He leafed through the notes.
“What about the other girl who was allegedly injured?”
“No idea. There’s no mention of her here,” Calladine said. “No one ever reported anything, and there was no evidence at the house. The old woman asked me in but there was no need. Everything looked fine.”
“It seems odd to me that Jade O’Brien was involved back then, and we have something similar now,” Ruth said.
“You’re thinking that Jade killed the grandmother?” Calladine asked.
“And possibly Millie too, all those years ago,” Ruth said. “I know from school that Millie was no fighter, and her granny was no match for Jade either. What if Sarah Hammond was right, something did happen that day and later on, Jade paid the pair another visit?”
“They knew Johnno Higgs back then too,” Calladine said.
“Is that relevant?”
“Yes, Ruth, a neighbour of the victim in our latest case heard two people arguing, at roughly the time of the murder. One was Becca but the other was a male. Which is why we’re looking for Johnno Higgs and not a female.”
“Just because the pair were heard arguing doesn’t mean he killed her,” Ruth said. “Do we know where Jade O’Brien is today?”
“No, but we’ll have to find her. Apart from needing a word, we should tell her about her mother’s death.” Calladine turned toward Rocco and Alice, both of whom were listening in to the conversation. “Got that? Johnno Higgs and Jade O’Brien. See if you can find the pair of them.” He thought for a second. “You could have a go at finding Sarah Hammond, too.”
“Higgs has a record, sir,” Alice told them. “Possession mostly. He’s done time for robbery, but he’s been quiet for the last couple of years.”
“Anything on Jade O’Brien?” If the girl had been a bad ’un back then, chances were she was known to them too.
“No, nothing.”
That surprised both Calladine and Ruth.
“Sir, I’ve found her,” Rocco said suddenly. “Jade O’Brien is a resident at Angel Court.”
Another surprise. Angel Court was a sheltered housing complex for vulnerable adults, mostly people with mental health problems “How long’s she been there?”
“Twenty-four years.”
Chapter Eleven
Angel Court was a collection of small bungalows and one apartment block, off the main road between the towns of Leesdon and Oldston. Set in extensive grounds, it resembled a hotel complex rather than sheltered housing.
“How much, d’you reckon?” Calladine asked as they parked up. “Stick an aged parent into care these days and it costs a fortune. Jade has been here years.”
“None of her lot have money, so the state must pay, I suppose. For that to happen it must be deemed necessary for her to be here. I wonder what happened to her. Apart from being a bully, she had no problems at school. D’you know what I’m thinking, Tom?”
“Go on, surprise me.”
“Perhaps Jade was hurt that day up at Gorse House and her being here today is the result.”
“Another leap,” he said. “You’re full of them today.”
“Did you actually have a conversation with Jade back then, speak to her about the incident? No, you didn’t — you said so yourself,” Ruth said.
“I told you, she was dozing by her mother’s bed. I didn’t get another chance after that.”
“Did you consider that perhaps she wasn’t asleep but hurt in some way?”
Calladine scratched his head. The thought had obviously never crossed his mind.
Ruth had rung ahead so they were expected. They were met in the reception area of the apartment block by Mary Kershaw, the manager. Calladine introduced them. “We’d like to speak to Jade O’Brien. Her mother has been killed and she should know, but apart from that we’d like a word with her about a matter from the past.”
She gasped. “Her mother’s dead? How dreadful. Becca was never up to much as a parent and the pair rarely met, but Jade does talk about her occasionally.” She looked from one detective to the other. “Killed, you said. An accident?”
“No. I’m afraid Becca was murdered,” Calladine said. “We’re investigating and it would help to have some background, including her relationship with Jade.”
The woman’s expression changed. She wasn’t keen on the idea. “Jade has done very well with us, given her problems, but her memory isn’t good. She doesn’t recall much, and I hesitate to dredge up anything that will upset her. This matter from the past — important, is it?”
Ruth looked at Calladine, who was gazing out of the window. The Jade she recalled from school had been bright, capable of going far with
the right guidance. She certainly hadn’t been someone who needed sheltered accommodation or had memory problems. “What happened to her? How come she ended up here?”
“You know I can’t discuss a resident’s medical history with you, not without a warrant or Jade’s approval. All I’m prepared to say is that she’s here because of an accident years ago. She had a nasty knock to the head. It resulted in an internal bleed that wasn’t picked up at the time. Eventually, she lost consciousness and didn’t come round for many days. When she did, she wasn’t the same girl.”
“Do you know how long ago this was?” Calladine asked.
“Twenty-odd years, I guess. If Jade agrees, I can dig out the file and let you look at it.”
“Is it likely she will?” Ruth asked. “I mean how . . . how ill is she?”
“This isn’t a hospital, Sergeant, or a prison. It’s a sheltered environment for vulnerable people. They live in the apartments or bungalows here as independently as they can manage. The more able among them come and go as they please. If they need help, they get it. We give them a full social calendar and encourage them to keep in touch with family and friends. While she’s in our care, Jade thrives. However, she doesn’t do well on the outside. She can’t cope with noise for a start.”
“Does Jade ever leave the complex on her own?” Calladine asked.
“Sometimes, when she’s having a good day. The library is a favourite of hers. Someone from here drops her off and picks her up at an agreed time.”
Definitely not the Jade Ruth remembered. The girl she knew at school wouldn’t have wasted her time reading. “Can we speak to her?” Ruth asked.
“I’ll take you to her apartment.”
* * *
Jade O’Brien’s apartment was on the ground floor of the three-storey block. Mary Kershaw rang the bell and the three of them waited. Ruth had no idea what to expect. The Jade she remembered was a vicious bully, a girl more suited to prison than the peaceful seclusion of an Angel Court.
A woman opened the door and stared at them for several seconds. Apart from the effects of the passing years, she looked much as Ruth remembered her — still stick thin and with the same unruly dark hair, now greying.
“You’re police,” Jade said finally. “I can always tell. And you,” she pointed at Ruth, “you’re that interfering bitch from school. I didn’t like you then, so what’re doing bothering me now?”
“You remember me?” Ruth was surprised. At least if Jade did recall her, it would save a lot of explaining.
“No . . . I’m not sure. I might if I think hard enough. Perhaps you just remind of someone,” Jade said.
“My name’s Ruth, and you’re right, we used to know each other at school. Can we come in and chat for a bit?”
“Just you and Mary but not the bloke.” She pointed at Calladine. “He looks shifty. I don’t trust him.”
Ruth gave him a wry smile. “You heard the lady, you’re shifty and banned to the corridor.”
Ruth and Mary Kershaw followed Jade inside and she locked the door behind them. “Don’t want that bloke chancing his arm.”
“He’s no danger,” Ruth assured her.
“They’re all dangerous, don’t be taken in. Men are all the same. My mother used to tell me that.”
“As a matter of fact, your mother is the reason we’ve come to see you,” Ruth said.
“Why? What’s she done now?”
Ruth watched as Jade lit a cigarette and moved to the open window. She seemed nervous.
“I haven’t seen her in months, and she doesn’t ring anymore either.”
“I’m afraid she’s dead,” Ruth said as gently as she could.
There was a few moments’ silence. Then, to Ruth’s surprise, Jade started to laugh. “Stupid woman. She overdosed, didn’t she?”
Her reaction was unexpected, but it meant Jade knew about her mother’s habit. It was something. “She was murdered, Jade.”
She shrugged. “Didn’t pay up then. Dealers don’t like that, particularly those who supply Johnno.”
“You remember Johnno?” Ruth asked.
“His name is stuck in my head for some reason. I might recognize him if I saw him, but then again, I might not.”
“We think your mother’s death has something to do with what happened to you, the accident you had a long time ago,” Ruth said.
“What accident?” Jade flashed a look at Mary. “I’m okay, aren’t I? I’m not hurt. What’s she on about?”
“The accident, the attack you suffered before you came here,” Mary said. “Remember, Jade? You’ve told me about it many times. The fight you and your friends had up at Gorse House with that girl, Millie. She hurt you, hit your head with a hammer, you said.”
Jade stood staring into space, her face suddenly blank and her eyes glazed. Mary darted forward and took the cigarette from her. “You’re okay, Jade. Sit down. Let it pass.”
“What’s up with her?” Ruth whispered.
“She’ll be all right in a moment or two. It’s a form of epilepsy.”
“The result of the bang on the head?” Ruth asked. She looked at Jade’s face. Despite the seizure, she knew there had been an argument up at Gorse House that day. It was even possible that when Calladine had caught up with Jade at the hospital, she wasn’t asleep but semi-conscious and the idiot hadn’t noticed. “Does this happen often?”
“Yes, Sergeant. Her memory is very patchy and she is subject to seizures when she gets stressed. She also has severe mood swings. As well as everything else.”
“I’m sorry. She’s certainly very different from the girl I knew at school. I see that she’s spoken to you about Gorse House. Has she told you what happened?” Ruth asked.
“A little. There was a fight, I believe, and Jade was hit on the head. Sometimes Jade remembers and sometimes not. Some things from the past have stuck — names and the like — but generally her memories go back only weeks. After that they fade and disappear or become confused,” Mary said. “She has nightmares, and when she wakes, she sometimes talks of a girl who hit her, but she’s never said very much.”
“Well, there’s no doubt she suffered a head injury,” Ruth said. “I’d like to know who hit her. It might have been a girl called Millie, but it could just as easily have been that same girl’s granny.”
“Whatever happened, it’s a pity the injury wasn’t spotted sooner. If Jade had received proper care, the outcome for her might have been very different.”
“I knew Jade at school, her friends too,” Ruth said. “They were a hard bunch, girls you didn’t cross. Millie was quiet, not at all violent. Jade bullied her. It is possible that she and her mates went up to Gorse House that day and things got out of hand. Jade was injured, but Millie came off worst in the end. We believe it is her remains that were found up there two years ago.”
Jade suddenly came to life. “That’s a lie,” she yelled. “I never touched the kid. I don’t know what happened to her.”
“Why are you asking about this now?” Mary Kershaw asked.
“I believe there’s a link between the death at Gorse House and that of Jade’s mother all these years later,” Ruth said. “When was the last time Jade was out alone?”
“I’ll have to check the calendar, but I know she went out on Monday, to Leesdon library as usual.”
That would fit. “What time did she return?”
“Actually, it was about eight thirty. I remember because she came back on the bus, which surprised me. Usually she’d ring one the carers and get picked up. When Jade got in, she said she’d been reading and forgot the time.”
“Can we take a look at your medical record while we’re here?” Ruth asked Jade.
Jade shrugged. “Fill your boots, but don’t expect to find much. I’m a headcase, have been since the attack.”
Chapter Twelve
Ruth and Calladine followed Mary Kershaw back to her office. “I’m really not happy about this,” Mary said.
“Ja
de doesn’t seem to mind,” Ruth replied.
“She doesn’t understand.”
“Why? She’s of sound mind, isn’t she?” Ruth asked.
Mary made a dismissive gesture. “Yes, but that’s not what I mean. She has no idea what’s in those records. Suppose you see something that incriminates her?”
“I don’t see a list of medication and write-ups of doctor’s appointments being that damning,” Calladine said dryly. He tapped Ruth’s arm. “Did she say anything?”
“She reckons she was in the library at the time her mother was killed,” Ruth said. “It needs checking out, and as I thought, she was injured up at Gorse House.”
They went into the office and sat down. “The attack left her with memory loss and prone to bouts of severe depression and epilepsy,” Mary said over her shoulder while she searched out the file. “Initially when she left hospital, she was in her mother’s care but that didn’t work at all. As you know, Becca was an addict. She left stuff lying around the flat, and within a week, Jade had overdosed. She mistook what her mother was taking for her own medication. Jade was hospitalized again and almost didn’t make it. That’s when she was put into our care, and she has been here ever since. When she takes her medication regularly, Jade is fine. She takes care of herself and doesn’t get into arguments with the other residents. But if she lets her regime slip, all hell lets loose.”
“What does that mean?” Ruth asked.
Mary gave a heavy sigh. “She gets into fights. Some of them have been nasty. She broke another resident’s arm last year. Jade fell into a blinding rage and went for her. If one of the carers hadn’t been on hand, Jade might have killed the woman.”
“Violent and unpredictable, you’ve got your hands full,” Calladine said. “How does Jade act when these outbursts are over?”
“Well, sorry of course,” Mary said. “In fact she wrote the woman a letter saying as much. No prompting from the staff, Jade did it all on her own. I think she was genuinely upset at losing it like that.”
DEAD SORRY a totally addictive crime thriller with a huge twist (Calladine & Bayliss Mystery Book 11) Page 5