Beautiful Child

by Menon, David

  ‘You and Andy must’ve got quite close?’

  ‘Oh we did, Doc,’ said Paddy. ‘I told him everything. We used to talk for hours. We’d go out to the pub or to the tote… ‘

  ‘… the tote?’

  ‘Sorry again,’ said Paddy, ‘that’s the Aussie word for the bookies. Then we’d get back and Jolene would have the dinner on the table for us. It was a bit chauvinistic I suppose, looking back, but it seemed to work for the three of us, Doc. Jolene seemed quite happy anyway to be looking after two blokes instead of just one. But it wasn’t all about that. The three of us would go out too. And Jolene had her friends who she used to go out with.’

  ‘What did you do for money?’

  ‘I got a job driving a truck. I went all over the state and into the neighbouring states of New South Wales and South Australia. It was the first time I actually started to enjoy being in Australia. I had the freedom of the open road and I loved it. They were the happiest days of my life, Doc, and if I could wave a magic wand then that’s where I’d go back to.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘I fucked it all up.’

  ‘How did you?’

  ‘I had an affair with Jolene and Andy didn’t like it,’ said Paddy. ‘Not surprisingly, I admit. She was a beautiful girl, Doc. I never thought I had a right to be with her, you know? I never thought I was good enough. But I thought she loved me. I got that wrong.’

  ‘How do you mean you got it wrong? You were having an affair with her’

  Paddy realised what he’d said. He’d have to be more careful. ‘Yeah, she loved me, Doc, of course she loved me. She wouldn’t have had an affair with me if she didn’t, I realise that now like I realised it then. Yeah, Doc. Yeah, she loved me.’

  Angela wondered what that was all about.

  ‘How long did the affair last for?’

  ‘We’d been going at it for six months when she told me she was pregnant. That was the real knife in Andy’s back. More so even than the actual affair.’

  ‘Why was that?’

  ‘Because Andy was infertile, Doc. Something to do with the accident all those years before.’

  ‘An accident that you’d caused.’

  ‘Yeah, Christ, it was such a bloody mess.’

  ‘So Jolene knew that the baby was yours even though I expect she was sleeping with Andy at the same time?’

  ‘That’s about it, yeah, Doc’ said Paddy.

  ‘No wonder Andy wasn’t pleased.’

  ‘He said I’d betrayed him which I had,’ said Paddy. ‘He said I’d chucked everything he’d done for me back in his face, which I had. Andy kicked both me and Jolene out. We got ourselves a unit in a suburb called Redfern and did our best to get on with things. We had a baby on the way. We both had jobs but it wasn’t easy once Jolene had to go and hire lawyers and stuff.’

  ‘And then what happened?’

  ‘Andy came looking for us one night,’ said Paddy rubbing his chin between his thumb and his forefinger, ‘and it turned pretty ugly.’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Superintendent John Hargreaves hurried into the squad room looking for Sara. The press were baying at the gates of headquarters. Two members of the public had lost their lives in brutal attacks and they wanted answers.

  ‘DCI Hoyland? What have we got?’

  ‘Sir, they were executed. In my opinion, both Rita Makin and Angus Carleton were executed by the same individual.’

  ‘But ma’am?’ questioned Joe Alexander. ‘What could be the possible link between a woman in her sixties who used to work in a flower shop and a young man who was just starting out on his career as a pilot and came from the other end of the country?’

  ‘You’re going by the prints, Sara?’ said Hargreaves.

  ‘Yes, sir,’ said Sara. ‘The same set of unidentifiable prints found at both murder scenes.’

  ‘The rest of it does seem far fetched though,’ said Hargreaves, ‘for the reasons Joe stated.’

  ‘Yes, I know, sir,’ Sara replied as she ran her hands through her long, blond hair and caught Hargreaves watching her. He’d been looking at her a lot like that lately. It was beginning to annoy her. ‘But the method was also the same in both murders and the rest is just screaming out at us. No forced entry which suggests to me that the victims knew their assailant. These weren’t random attacks, sir. Our friend knew who he was going for and there’s something that connects these two people that the murderer is using as justification for his actions. We’re going to find what that is. That’s unless the McDermott brothers come up with the answer first.’

  ‘How do you mean, Sara?’ said Hargreaves.

  ‘Sir, I’m convinced that the McDermott brothers not only saw Rita Makin’s killer but he was also familiar to them in some way. Otherwise, why abscond to another country? Why not just give us a description of whoever it was they saw?’

  ‘They’re not big time are they,’ said Hargreaves.

  ‘Not at all, sir’ said Sara. ‘By all accounts they fancied themselves as gangsters but the action hasn’t followed the words. They haven’t done anything to touch our radar apart from a couple of speeding tickets.’

  ‘What’s the latest on them, ma’am?’ asked Joe.

  ‘They’ve got relatives in County Clare who we know they’ve been in contact with. But nobody knows exactly where they are. I’m in daily contact with our colleagues in the Garda and they’re on the hunt for them. I think it’s vital that the Garda find the McDermott brothers because I’m certain they’ll lead us to the individual who murdered both victims.’

  ‘And who’s to say there isn’t going to be more?’ said Joe.

  ‘That’s what I’m afraid of, Joe’ said Sara.

  ‘So what’s being done to find this link in the absence of a statement from the McDermott brothers?’ Hargreaves knew he needed quick answers, the last thing he needed was a city on red alert because there was a killer on the loose.

  ‘DS Bradshaw went to see Felicia McDermott this morning, sir,’ said Sara before turning to Adrian. ‘DS Bradshaw?’

  Adrian was lost in own world; wondering when the shit was going to hit the fan at home. His sister-in-law Natasha was poison and she’d take great pleasure in telling his wife Penny about his relationship with Matt. She’d love every minute of sticking the knife in. It had been two days now and she hadn’t made her move yet. Why didn’t she get her evil deed over and done with? Matt had already been in touch to tell him that he wasn’t going to press any charges against Natasha as long as she paid for the damage to his car. That at least was something.

  ‘DS Bradshaw?’ Sara repeated. ‘Sorry, are we boring you?’

  ‘Ma’am?’ said Adrian.

  ‘Mrs. McDermott? What did she tell you if anything?’

  ‘Sorry, ma’am. Felicia McDermott is adamant that neither of her two sons gave any hint as to the identity of Rita Makin’s murderer before they left for Ireland.’

  ‘Did you press her, DS Bradshaw?’

  ‘Of course, ma’am’ said Adrian defensively, ‘this is an important case.’

  ‘I’m so glad you recognise that fact, DS Bradshaw,’ replied Sara with a sarcasm that wasn’t lost on Superintendent Hargreaves who shot her a knowing look.

  ‘My apologies, ma’am,’

  Adrian was suitably chastened but his mind wasn’t on the job and he knew it. The ball (his balls?) were entirely in Natasha’s court and that’s what scared him the most. Penny had noticed that he hadn’t slept much these past couple of nights.

  ‘DS Bradshaw, I need everybody to be focused on this. You do appreciate that?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am, yes, of course I do,’ said Adrian who was now feeling a bit picked on. ‘I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression but I’ve given you my assurances and, with all due respect, ma’am, that should be enough.’

  A momentary chill came over the room but Sara was determined to brush it aside.

  ‘Warren Clarke has said he doesn’t intend to press
any charges against his wife Michelle and her lover, Nick Jackson, for attempting to have him beaten up,’ said Sara breaking the tension., ‘but we’ve still had to send the case to the DPP and I hope they still get charged despite the good grace of Warren Clarke. They were collateral as far as the wider case is concerned though. A crime within a crime you might say.’

  ‘Yes and I don’t think it’s productive to spend anymore time on those characters,’ Hargreaves agreed, ‘we need to move on and find the actual killer of Rita Makin and Angus Carleton. And I agree with you, DCI Hoyland that it certainly looks like the same assailant committed both crimes.’

  ‘Sir,’ said Sara, ‘And despite the sensitivities, the family of both Angus Carleton and his fiancée, Susie Schofield will need to be pressed hard when being interviewed. Something is there for us to find out somewhere.’

  *

  Natasha didn’t put on any make-up, which was unusual for her because normally she considered it as a necessity. She may as well stop breathing as leave the house without her face on. But she needed to play for maximum effect when it came to her sister Penny and that’s why she’d ‘dressed down’ in plain light blue jeans, a dark green cardigan and a plain white t-shirt. She’d put on a pair of white flat shoes that she couldn’t remember ever buying because she’d never buy anything as awful as those and from her overall appearance today nobody would know that she was the same immaculately made up stewardess who would greet her first class passengers on Friday as they departed for Los Angeles with the best smile she could muster.

  She’d never been this far east of Manchester before. This was nearly Derbyshire or even Yorkshire for God’s sake. Now there were many rich folks in Yorkshire and she’d maybe have to get herself over there now that her darling boy Charles had been such a bastard. Or maybe she’d fall back on one of the many pilots at work who were desperate to get into her knickers. She could do with a change and they all lived in the depths of Surrey where she’d surely meet the right kind of friends. A couple of them were okay looking and she could always fake it at the right moments. Then she could push out a brat or two and settle into high tax brand domesticity a million miles away from her penurious upbringing. Not that it was that bad but she didn’t go to private school and her father was desperately working class, a fact she didn’t tell anybody about at work. But for now there would also be the sympathy factor that came from having been dumped by a celebrity doctor. She’d get plenty of mileage out of that for quite a while.

  She wasn’t sorry to say that she’d never been out to her sister’s house at Saddleworth before. The estate stank of ordinariness. They were probably all just a generation away from a semi in one of Manchester’s more faceless suburbs. At least Saddleworth had the appearance of aspiration and was different because of all the bloody hills around and about. If she was a more giving kind of person she’d admit to it all being rather picturesque. But she wasn’t so she didn’t, not even to herself.

  ‘Mum told me about Charles,’ said Penny as she walked her sister through to the kitchen. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘He said some awful things, Penny.’ Natasha began taking a paper tissue out of her handbag to wipe away some tears she’d managed to force out, ‘I can’t repeat most of them. But they hurt, Penny. They really hurt.’

  Instinctively Penny threw her arms round her sister even though she knew she’d get bugger all back in the way of emotional support. She still hadn’t talked to Adrian about the miscarriage and she was dreading it. She’d gone behind his back and let herself get pregnant even though he’d said he didn’t want another baby.

  ‘What did Charles say?’

  ‘Didn’t you hear me? I said I can’t repeat most of them.’

  Penny wanted to slap her. ‘Hey now, look, Natasha, you can get out now if all you’re going to do is have a go at me because I’ve got troubles of my own and I’m not in the mood to fight you.’

  ‘Oh you’ll get over it,’ said Natasha, dismissively.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘Well you’ve already got three but then you’ve always been a greedy cow.’

  ‘You never cease to amaze me, Natasha, with your insensitivity.’

  ‘Well if you stopped thinking that everything is all about you just for five seconds of your life then you might not forget about the plight of other people!’

  ‘Oh that’s rich coming from Little Miss I Want Everybody’s Attention!.’

  ‘Well can you blame me? I come here because I need my sister and all she does is get into a row with me.’

  ‘Natasha, did you know this is the first time you’ve visited me here and we’ve been in this house for four years now?.’

  ‘There you go again!’ Natasha exclaimed. ‘Bringing it all back to you!’

  Penny breathed in deep as she took the verbal onslaught from her sister who hadn’t asked her at all about her miscarriage. But then that was why Natasha was Natasha.

  ‘I’ll make us some coffee’ said Penny.

  ‘I don’t drink instant.’

  Penny paused and closed her eyes. ‘I have a coffee machine’ she said. ‘It makes very good coffee as you’ll soon see.’

  Penny put on a pot of coffee and tried to keep her patience. Why had Natasha come round? What was on her agenda?

  ‘Alright,’ said Penny. ‘You haven’t come round here to offer your condolences over my miscarriage or to see how I’m feeling after it and, quite frankly, if you try and act like you’re the only one who’s going through it then so help me, I’ll slap you. I know you don’t love me, Natasha and I know you don’t even like me. And I don’t believe you need me in any way, shape or form after what’s happened with Charles. So what is it? You haven’t got Mum here to help you stick the knife in today so come on, what are you here for?’

  ‘My God, I never realised you were so paranoid.’

  ‘Only where you’re concerned,’ said Penny, ‘because you see, you’ll always choose the most underhand way of dealing with anything. I pity the man who marries you. He’ll need to be looking over his shoulder the whole time. In fact, I’ll bet you’ve already got some other poor bloke lined up to play your little games. He doesn’t know what he’s in for.’

  ‘I’m sure you’d take great delight in telling him.’

  ‘Oh I’m sure I would because I’m tired of not throwing it back at you, Natasha,’ Penny replied now thoroughly enjoying getting it all off her chest. ‘You’ve got away with being vile and nasty to me for too long. But not anymore.’

  ‘I see,’ said Natasha sitting back in her chair at Penny’s kitchen table with a smirk, ‘have you finished?’

  ‘For the time being.’

  ‘I must say it makes a change to see you with a spine, sister dearest,’ said Natasha. ‘I’m quite impressed’

  ‘Why are you here, Natasha?’

  ‘Where’s Adrian?’ Natasha was going to enjoy this.

  Penny was taken aback by the question. ‘He’s at work like he always is.’

  ‘Are you sure about that?’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Did you know your husband has been sleeping with someone else?’

  Penny crossed the space between them and slapped her sister across the face. ‘You lying little bitch.’

  Natasha rubbed her face and the smirk returned. ‘And I know who it is.’

  ‘Well if that’s the case what’s her name?’ Penny demanded.

  ‘Oh it’s not a woman,’ said Natasha who watched the pain of confusion rip across her sister’s face. ‘It’s a man. Remember that nice doctor who was there when your foetus did a runner? Well it’s him. Doctor Matt Schofield. I can give you his address if you like only let me be there when you confront him. I could do with a good laugh.’

  *

  Ann Schofield was shaking as she tried to pour the morning tea for Brendan and Father Phillip.

  ‘Come on now, Ann’ said Phillip as he got up from the table to help her, ‘sit yourself down. I
’ll finish things off.’

  ‘But you’re just back from your study trip, Father, and I know you boys don’t eat enough when you get your heads and your hearts into the books.’

  ‘Ann’ said Phillip, ‘you’ve had a terrible shock. Now please sit down and let me wait on you for a change.’

  Ann smiled. ‘Alright’ she said, ‘if you insist.’

  ‘Phillip is right’ said Brendan as Ann joined him at the table and he patted her hand. ‘Listen to the young man. He can be wise for his years.’

  Phillip smiled cheekily. ‘Oh well thank you, Brendan, that’s really made my day‘

  ‘Well don’t let it go to your head or you’ll be doing every early morning Mass for the next month.’

  ‘I’ll keep well buttoned, Brendan,’ said Phillip. ‘You know how I hate early mornings.’

  Brendan then turned to Ann. ‘So, my dear. How are you holding up?’

  ‘I’m not, Brendan,’ Ann admitted before breaking down in tears. ‘My little girl Susie is so distraught she spends most of the time under sedation. Our Matt is taking care of her at the moment. Bill has had to go back to work and take over the running of the business until Susie is well again. And I’ll never forget the look of pain on the faces of Angus’ mother and father. The funeral will be down near to where his mother lives, a place called Leatherhead, I think. His father lives out in Hong Kong. I just hope Susie is well enough. She’s always been strong. I’ve never seen her like this.’

  ‘Have the police any clues as to who did this evil thing, Ann?’ asked Phillip.

  ‘They seem to think it’s the same individual who killed poor Rita Makin.’

  ‘Why is that?’ Brendan wanted to know. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Apparently the… the method was exactly the same and the police believe they were targeted.’

  ‘But why?’ wondered Phillip aloud, ‘They didn’t even know each other as far as I know.’

  ‘The police are looking into everything,’ Ann answered, ‘all of our family and friends.’

  ‘Seems like a wise move,’ Phillip commented, ‘they’ve got to look wherever they can.’