by Mel Sherratt
There was a peal of laughter behind them as the lift doors opened. The man clamped a hand to her mouth again, his body pressing down on hers as an elderly couple came walking out on to their level.
They walked in the opposite direction to her vehicle, still laughing. He kept a hand over her mouth. Christina knew he was trying to silence her until they were alone again. It was her only chance.
She kicked at his shin and then let out an ear-piercing scream.
The couple stopped and turned to look.
Christina screamed again.
He turned away to look behind him. Then he groaned and punched her in the face again before pushing himself off.
Watching him running away, Christina quickly scrambled out of the back seat and into the front. Putting down the locks, she sobbed hysterically. The guy was going to rape her. Thank God someone had come to their car at the right moment. Another five minutes and. . . she tried to catch her breath, trying not to think of what might have happened.
‘Are you okay?’ A knock came on the window. It was the elderly couple. ‘We heard you shout.’
Christina nodded. She could barely see for crying.
‘Are you sure?’ the man shouted, as if she hadn’t heard him the first time.
She sat with her hands shaking, trying to gain her composure enough to drive away. They wanted to help, but there was no way she was getting out of her car again. She nodded once more and wiped at her tears.
Finally they moved off. She started the engine and drove out of the car park, not stopping until she arrived at Stockleigh Police Station.
Chapter Fifteen
Eden had thought that Joe would change his mind and join them at her sister’s on Sunday. Which is why Laura was annoyed that he had decided to spend his lunch at the pub with his friends, watching the football.
Laura sighed as she cut up a joint of beef that had been sitting for ten minutes. ‘It isn’t even a big game.’
‘He has a life too, you know.’ Eden wouldn’t be drawn into another discussion of her and Joe’s tepid relationship. ‘No Sarah this week?’ Sarah was Laura’s older daughter.
‘No, she’s working.’
‘So how has Jess been?’ she asked, hoping to change the subject.
‘Okay, I guess.’ Laura sighed. ‘She’s broken up with Cayden again.’
‘Ah.’
When Jess had been kidnapped the previous year, several teenagers had been assaulted and Eden had found out more than she had bargained for about Jess and her boyfriend, Cayden – they’d been stealing mobile phones and getting paid for them. Eden was still looking into that case but the leads so far had come to nothing. Jess and Cayden had also been sharing photos online that they shouldn’t have. Both she and Laura were hoping that the relationship between them would peter out. It had and then it hadn’t, several times over the past few months.
‘I wish I could say this time will be the last, but I’m not too hopeful,’ Laura continued. ‘I heard Jess crying in her room this morning. I didn’t have the heart to go in, as I know I’d make things worse by saying something insensitive, like there are more fish in the sea. She doesn’t want to hear that, even if it’s true.’
‘Who did the finishing this time?’ Eden wanted to know.
‘He did. Said she was smothering him and he needed more space.’
‘And how long were they apart during their last break-up?’
‘Three days.’ Laura couldn’t help but grin. ‘The longest yet.’ She sighed again. ‘I know they won’t last more than a few months in total, but I wish she could see what we see right now. They aren’t meant for each other.’
‘Who are we to think that?’ Eden mused. ‘I certainly can’t with my track record.’
‘You make it sound like you had tons of relationships! Or lots of one-night stands anyway.’
‘I wish!’ Eden grinned and popped a small piece of roast potato into her mouth.
‘Stop thieving!’ Laura reached over and smacked her hand playfully.
‘What are you two up to?’ said Jess as she came into the room. Her long blonde hair was freshly washed and straightened, make-up plastered to her face the way some teens loved to wear it – black kohl-lined eyes, lashings of mascara beneath smoky grey lids and deep red lipstick.
Eden knew she’d look back at photos in years to come, as she and Laura often did, and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ But then again, she could remember thinking she was the bee’s knees during her teen years.
‘Hi, Jess.’ She stepped towards her niece and embraced her. ‘How have you been this week?’
‘Fine.’ Jess hugged her back. ‘But cut the crap. I heard Mum telling you that Cayden had ditched me.’
‘Poor you.’ Eden squeezed her again. ‘You know I think it’s for your own good though.’
Casey came in then, rolled her eyes when she saw them hugging and left the room. Eden frowned then turned to Laura and rolled her eyes at her sister. What was up with her now? Kids!
‘Can you start dishing the food out on to the plates, Jess?’ asked Laura. ‘Keep everything as hot as we can.’
‘Won’t be a moment,’ said Eden. She popped back into the living room. Casey was sitting on the settee, legs outstretched, arms folded, and a scowl on her pretty face.
Eden flopped beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders. Casey rebuffed it and moved away from her.
‘What’s up?’ Eden was hurt.
‘Whenever we come around here, it’s all Jess, Jess, Jess,’ she said. ‘I’m here too.’
‘I know, but I see you every day. Besides, Laura wants me to have a word with Jess.’
‘What about?’
‘Just to see if she’s coping.’
‘You see?’ Casey raised a hand in the air before dropping it. ‘Laura never wants to talk to me, ask me if anything is wrong.’
‘Is there anything wrong?’ Eden posed the question. Had she not noticed something going on right underneath her nose?
‘No.’ Casey folded her arms again.
Eden tried not to smile as she put an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and pulled her close again. This time there was no resistance.
‘Oh, Casey, my angel. You’re special because I don’t need to worry about you. You’ll always be special because of that.’
Casey looked at her mother from underneath the same blonde block fringe that her cousin had. The two of them were so alike in looks, if not temperament.
Eden gave her a squeeze. ‘I’d like a good Sunday, with no bickering. Joe isn’t here to wind anyone up either. Can we have at least one afternoon without an argument between you and Jess?’
Casey shrugged. ‘She always starts it.’
‘Well, let’s make sure she has no ammunition today then.’
‘Grub’s up!’ Laura shouted through.
Eden reached for Casey’s hand and pulled her to her feet. ‘Come on, you.’
After they’d eaten the main course, Eden and Laura started sharing tales of their teens. Both Jess and Casey were always enthralled to hear what their mothers had got up to in their youth.
‘Do you remember when I was sixteen and you were eighteen,’ Eden pointed at Laura, ‘and I fancied the pants off your boyfriend? God, what was his name now?’ She wracked her brain but she couldn’t think of it.
‘Barry Braindead!’
‘Oh yes.’
‘Seriously?’ Jess gasped, then put a hand over her mouth as she realised they had made it up.
‘Barry Braindead was the nickname we gave him because he was so stupid,’ said Laura. ‘He tried to play us off against each other.’
‘He thought you wouldn’t find out about him arranging to meet me,’ said Eden, ‘but Mum wouldn’t allow me to stay out late so Laura had to be my chaperone.’
‘To a date with my own boyfriend!’
Jess and Casey laughed.
‘I can still remember his face when we rolled up together,’ said Laura, ‘and he had to
pretend to you that it was a joke.’
‘While you looked insulted and outraged that he would trick you so much.’ Eden laughed too.
‘I got him in the end, though, didn’t I?’
‘Yes, I ditched him there and then. You dated him for a further week and then ditched him too. I wonder who he moved on to next?’
‘Some unlucky sod!’ Laura grinned. ‘Can you remember the time when we went to the fair and met two lads on their bikes?’
‘Bikes?’ said Casey, pouting. ‘You’d never let me out to meet anyone who had a motorbike.’
‘She might if it was a scooter.’ Jess laughed, nudging her cousin.
‘Pushbikes!’ Eden and Laura said in unison.
‘I can still remember when I had a date with Mike and I had to have you tagging along with me. I can still recall your face when I went off with him and left you alone all night,’ said Laura. ‘When I came back to you, all loved-up after a good snogging session, you ignored me and left me to walk home twenty yards behind you. You were livid.’
‘I was in love with him too!’
‘You never told me you wanted to go out with him!’ Laura protested.
‘She was cruel to me when we were younger,’ Eden told Casey and Jess, who were still laughing. She reached across the table and gave Laura’s hand a squeeze. It was good to share memories with their daughters. They might not have their parents now, and their partners were gone – Laura’s husband, Neil, had been killed in 2009 in a hit-and-run accident – but they had each other. Something they were both grateful for every day. As well as family Sunday lunches.
Eden’s phone beeped and she reached for it. It was Sean.
Another attack – might be linked so I’ve sent the details over to your team. Have a look at it first thing, will you? Thanks.
Eden groaned.
‘Bad news?’ asked Laura.
‘There’s been another woman attacked last night.’ She looked up at them. ‘I don’t mean to scare anyone but you three, and Sarah, need to be careful at the moment. No going anywhere on your own after dark. Please be extra vigilant until he’s caught.’
Twenty-One Years Ago
Our first weekend away was perfect. Ryan took me to York, and we had the most wonderful time. I absolutely adored him and we became inseparable soon after. I was completely and utterly besotted with him because he was a true gentleman.
He was always buying me gifts – flowers would arrive at the office, a teddy bear, chocolates. He’d take me out on a date and surprise me with champagne at a restaurant, just because. He made me feel like a million dollars.
Pretty soon I was seeing him most nights he wasn’t working. He introduced me to his acquaintances, but most of the time we would stay in together or go out for a romantic meal. I lost a few friends because he wanted me all to himself, but I wasn’t too bothered at the time. Everyone falls in love and loses some friends, don’t they? He was so good to me that I didn’t feel like I was losing out. He was so attentive. I felt so lucky to be with him.
Yet , it was all about luring me in, giving me a false sense of security. Getting me to wear clothes he thought were flattering when they were dowdy and boring rather than colourful and fashionable as I was used to. Getting me to spend the evening with him rather than out with my friends because he didn’t want to be apart from me. Getting me to listen to his classical music rather than my upbeat songs. I never saw it coming. I was just a girl in love.
Even now I can’t begin to understand how much he tricked me. How he could be so loving for so long without showing me an ounce of the aggression to come. If only I had seen the signs.
I resigned from my job shortly after meeting Ryan. A position had opened up where he worked, and he said I’d be far better suited to it than working in a greasy garage with a load of men leering at me. I said it wasn’t like that, but he wouldn’t listen. Besides, he said, he’d be able to see more of me then. I missed working with the girls, and I missed the banter of the men in the garage, but this was a promotion and I was so pleased he was looking out for me.
Ryan often stayed overnight in some of the places he visited during the week. That was okay though because he’d call me several times each evening, just to chat. I thought it was such an attentive thing to do and showed how much he cared about me. How much he missed me.
I had the most fabulous two years. Then he asked me to marry him. That blew me away too. More fool me for saying yes. He played me well. Two years he had waited, watched and schemed, getting under my skin, loving me, making me feel protected.
I don’t know why I didn’t spot his potential for violence earlier. I know now that it was all a game to him. To see how long he could control me with the verbal abuse before the violence started. And boy did he win. Every time.
He was too strong for me. From the outside, Ryan was smart, successful, caring, friendly. But from the minute he came home, it was as if a switch had flicked and he turned into a control freak – a manipulating, vicious bully. It was as if he needed something to overpower. Someone who wouldn’t answer back, who would give him the emotional need and support he craved. Then he’d go out into the world the next day, leaving me behind with my bruised ego, my sense of fear, my failure.
I couldn’t begin to tell you when it went wrong. He was like a disease that crept under my skin and I couldn’t help getting contaminated. Ryan was like a drug, an intoxication, something that I had to have. Before that I had been happy in my life; when I met him I was ecstatic. Or so I thought. Funny how love can cloud your judgement.
Chapter Sixteen
‘There’s been another attack, boss.’ Jordan looked up from his screen when Eden came into the office the next morning. ‘A young woman in a car park. Christina Spencer.’
‘Yes, Sean sent me a message yesterday.’
‘Coincidence or linked, do you think?’
‘If there’s a link, we’ll find it.’ Eden gnawed on her bottom lip. ‘But why pick such a crowded place?’
‘It was 8 p.m. The multi-storey car park gives me the creeps at midday, never mind late at night,’ said Amy, coming to the desk. ‘There are so many hiding places.’
Eden glanced at Phil, who was sitting in his chair, going from side to side with his legs out straight. He was looking down the corridor as if he couldn’t wait to escape.
‘Phil, can you re-interview a witness please? An elderly couple think they were there when the attack happened. I’d like the details on my desk as soon as possible please.’
Eden had thought that he’d be pleased to get out of the office but a curt nod of the head was all she got. She watched as he hurled his cumbersome frame up out of his chair and held in a sigh. Talk about hard work.
Thirty minutes later, Eden knocked on the door at the address Jordan had given her from the call log. A woman answered and introduced herself as Christina’s mum. Mrs Spencer showed her into the living room where a younger version of herself was sitting in an armchair, the television on.
‘Hi, Christina,’ Eden said. ‘May I talk to you?’
Christina nodded. ‘I don’t think I have anything else to say though.’ She looked up at Eden. ‘I told the officer who interviewed me after it happened. I was attacked and, luckily, the bastard was disturbed before he did me any real harm.’ She pointed to the bruising on her face. ‘A small reminder, but I was very fortunate.’
Eden admired her attitude. She hoped it wasn’t a front and that Christina wouldn’t crumble after she’d left. She’d hate her to be looking over her shoulder all the time or be trapped in the house for fear of going out.
‘I know you’ve already made a statement so I don’t want to go through the attack with you again,’ said Eden. ‘I have everything I need in here. What I wonder is if you’ve remembered anything else since Saturday night? I often ask people to go through as many of the five senses as they can. So, for instance, can you remember anything else that you heard or smelt, or even felt?’
Chris
tina looked blank for a moment and then seemed to understand what Eden meant.
‘I could smell his aftershave. I can still smell it in my car. It has a woody tang but I don’t have a clue what it is. I could smell leather too – from his gloves as they covered my mouth.’
‘Well done,’ Eden encouraged. ‘Did he say anything to you?’
Christina shook her head.
‘Did you notice anything unusual about him?’
‘I don’t think so. He was mostly covered up.’
‘What about facial scars? The colour of his eyes?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry.’
Eden reached across for Christina’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. ‘You’re doing great. Sometimes this exercise makes you focus more on things that were around you rather than the attack itself.’ She stood up and put her notebook in her pocket.
Mrs Spencer, who had been sitting quietly until then, burst into tears. Christina went across to her immediately.
‘Don’t cry, Mum.’ She put an arm round her shoulder. ‘You’re supposed to be looking after me, not the other way around. And you know us Spencer women are a strong breed. I won’t let it get to me.’
Eden left the women to it. It made her all the more determined to get the man who had attacked Christina, and possibly the other women, off the streets of Stockleigh.
Chapter Seventeen
Phil sat in the living room of Mr and Mrs Reynolds’ bungalow. It was a pleasant room with a large bay window but it was crammed with bric-a-brac. All around him were ornaments and pictures in frames and collections of, well, stuff. He perched uncomfortably in a rocking chair, the only chair that was clear of anything on its cushion.
He tried not to look bored as he listened to the couple he’d gone to re-interview.
‘I haven’t been able to get the scream out of my head since I heard it,’ said Stanley Reynolds, a man in his late seventies, with bushy eyebrows and a large belly. Stanley’s wife was about the same age, with short grey hair, her face subtly made-up, complimenting her maturity. Phil guessed they had made a handsome couple when they were younger, especially when his eyes flew over some of the many photos.