by M A Comley
“I know. I’m sorry to have put you all through this. I truly am.”
“Inspector, I think you should remove this man from my house now,” Janet said quietly.
Warren stared at his mother. “Mum, please, forgive me.”
Janet shook her head. “Don’t ever call me that again. You’re no son of mine. How could you? Get him out of my sight, please, I’m begging you.”
“I agree,” Thomas said.
“So do I,” Shaun concurred.
Sally nodded at Jack. “Put the cuffs on him, Jack, and read him his rights. I’ll be out in a moment.”
Jack and Warren left the room. At least Warren had the decency not to say anything more to the family he had devastated.
William asked his wife, “Those men were nice, love. Will they be coming back to visit us soon?”
Janet patted him on the hand. “No, love. I doubt it.”
“Did you know, Inspector?” Shaun asked.
“I have to say this has come as a complete shock to me. Although, upon reflection, when we visited Warren at his place of work the other day, his reaction seemed a little suspicious. The same could be said about Steven when we dropped by to see him last night. I’m so sorry you had to witness that. I hope you think I did the right thing by allowing him to make his confession in front of you all. ”
“We understand why you did it, Inspector, and appreciate the work you have tirelessly put in on the case. We’ll be eternally grateful. What will happen now?” Thomas asked, his shoulders slumped.
“I’ll bring Steven Jay in for questioning with a view to charging him with your brother’s murder. Warren will have to be charged as an accessory and will probably have an additional charge of perverting the course of justice thrown at him.”
“I hope he rots in prison,” Shaun said, dropping into the chair Warren had just vacated. “What a sick fucker he is! Putting us through all that pain and misery all these years. Watching us go out and search for our brother daily, when all the time he knew it was a useless exercise. I never want to see him or hear his name mentioned as long as I live.”
“He’ll be punished for his sins. Are you all right, Janet?” Sally asked, concerned that the woman hadn’t said anything since her son had left the room.
“I will be once I bury Jeff. When can we do that, Inspector?”
“I’ll have a word with the pathologist and have an answer for you by the end of the day.”
“Thank you. Without you getting involved in this case, we would be none the wiser about this and still living with a murderer in our midst. Oh, I know he didn’t cast the kick that killed Jeff, but in my eyes, he’s just as guilty as the man who carried out the odious deed. All these years, he’s known, and not once has he hinted…I can’t think about him any more. My priority lies with the family who have supported me through the guilt all these years. Poor William, he hasn’t got a clue what’s happened. He’s having one of his bad days, as you can see.”
“I’m so sorry it’s turned out this way for all of you. I need to go now and make an arrest. I’ll be in touch later, as promised.”
Thomas showed Sally to the door and shook her hand with both of his. “I—we really appreciate all you have done for us, Inspector. Do all you can to ensure Warren doesn’t get away with this. It would kill my mother if he were to walk free from the sins he’s committed.”
“I can guarantee he won’t escape punishment. Speak soon.”
Sally’s phone rang before she reached the car. “Hi, Jordan. Go on, make my day even better and tell me you’ve discovered Abbott’s hideaway.”
“We have, boss. I’ve notified SOCO, and they’re on their way. ”
Sally slouched against the car. “Bloody hell. I was only joking. Where was it?”
“An old hut on the beach down here.”
“Well done, the pair of you. Are you going to stay down there until SOCO arrive?”
“That was the plan, boss, unless you want us to return to base?”
“No, stay there. Congratulations. We’ve cracked this case, as well. I’ll tell you all about it later. We have a couple of arrests to make in the meantime.”
“Sounds cryptic. Glad you’ve been successful, boss. See you later.”
During the drive back, Sally placed a call to the station to ask the desk sergeant to arrange for Steven Jay to be brought in for questioning. She interviewed him for two hours solid until he finally broke down and spilled his confession, even admitting that he used to torture and kill the cats that strayed into his aunt’s garden—which he later buried in the walls of her house. He was arrested and thrown into the cell next to Warren’s until transport could be arranged to ship them out to the remand centre where they would sweat it out until their trial dates came around.
Before she left work that evening, Sally also called the governor at the prison to share the good news. He informed her that he would take great delight in telling Abbott they had successfully discovered the bodies of his victims.
Next on Sally’s list of people to call was Simon. “Hello, love. Good news. We’ve arrested two people for Jeff Ryland’s murder. The family want to know when his body will be released. They’re eager to give him a proper burial.”
“That’s great news. Who did it?”
“One of the brothers’ friends. Plus one of the brothers had known all along and hid the secret for years.”
“Jesus, really?”
“Yep. The family are naturally beside themselves. When will Jeff be released, love? I have another couple of calls I need to make before I leave tonight. ”
“I can arrange for the funeral parlour to pick up the remains tomorrow.”
“Excellent news. I’ll let them know now. See you soon.” She ended the call and immediately rang Thomas to tell him the news.
Then Sally nipped out of the office to grab another coffee before she made her final call of the day. “Hello. Is that you, Miranda?”
“It is. Sorry, I don’t recognise the voice. Who is this?”
“It’s DI Sally Parker. I have some news for you.”
“Oh gosh. Please let me sit down first.” Sally heard a chair scrape on the floor. “Okay, I’m sitting. What news?”
“It’s yet to be confirmed, but two of my officers believe they have discovered the hideout Abbott used, and yes, they’ve uncovered some bones.”
“Oh God. I’m not sure how to react. I’m relieved beyond words, but I can also feel my emotions of loss rising at the same time. When will you be able to give me a definitive answer?”
Sally reflected on the Ryland case and how long the results had taken to come through. “Should be within a couple of weeks. I hope you don’t think I’m jumping the gun by telling you this early.”
“Not at all. I’d rather know. Can I ask you to rush things through? I had an appointment with my specialist today, and his prognosis has altered. He’s given me four weeks to live.”
Tears sprang to Sally’s eyes. “I’m so very sorry to hear that. Leave it with me. I’ll do what I can for you. Take care. I’ll be in touch soon.”
Sally hung up and found herself overwhelmed with emotion. Jack walked in a few minutes later to find her slumped over her paperwork, sobbing. He rushed around the desk and threw a clumsy arm around her shoulders to comfort her.
Epilogue
Two weeks later, and with yet an additional cold case solved, the DCI was standing in the incident room, congratulating the team on their phenomenal success over the past month. It was no mean feat successfully solving three huge cases in that time. Sally waited for the punchline to happen, but the DCI surprised them all by giving them an extra day off.
“Thank you, sir. That’s very kind of you.”
“You’ll need it to get everyone up to Scotland in time for the wedding.” DCI Green smirked. “I take it my invitation got lost in the post, Parker.”
Sally cringed at the heat burning her cheeks. “Umm…sorry, sir. I didn’t think you’d want…�
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He raised a hand to silence her. “I was joking. Go, all of you, with my blessing. I have a question first.”
“What’s that, sir?”
“Will you still be Parker when you come back to work after your honeymoon?”
“To be honest with you, sir, I’m still debating that.”
“Let me know when you get back from the Maldives. Ha, it’s all right for some. The Algarve is more in line with my pocket.”
“Simon insisted on paying as a wedding gift, sir.”
“Quite right, too. You have a decent man on your hands there, Inspector. Treat him well.”
Sally chuckled. “Yes, sir, if that’s an order.”
“It is. Be happy and enjoy your day.” He leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek.
Sally held her hand against her face where he’d kissed her long after he’d left the incident room.
“Bloody hell, Sal, the man has a heart after all,” Jack whispered.
The team roared .
“Right, you heard the boss. Let’s get out of here. Is everyone sure of where to catch the coach in the morning?”
“Don’t you worry about us. You get off, and we’ll see you up there around lunchtime tomorrow. What time is the wedding again?” Jack grinned.
Sally thumped him in the arm. “Don’t even joke about that, matey. Safe travels everyone. Thank you all for coming on this trip. It means a great deal to have you all there with us.”
“It’s not like we’re footing the bill, boss. Let’s be fair,” Jack shouted as she raced into the office to collect her bag and jacket.
Sally said another tearful farewell and left the station with tons of congratulations ringing in her ears from the colleagues unable to join her on the big day.
She made her way home to Simon’s house. Her parents and Dex arrived a few hours later. The immediate family had decided to drive up to Scotland a day earlier than everyone else. They set off at three that afternoon and took a leisurely drive north, stopping for a light supper at a quaint restaurant in the Lakes before they continued on their journey to the guest house where they were booked in.
The following day, Sally and her mother were adding the finishing touches to her ensemble when there was a knock on the door to the room at the guest house. Her mother opened it and gasped. “Good Lord. Lorne Simpkins, how the dickens are you? Come in, love. You’re looking fit and well.”
“Hello, Janine. Hey, it’s Warner now, but I’ll let you off. Where is she?”
“Here I am. Oh, God, I swore I wouldn’t cry today, and then you walk in the bloody room.”
Sally flew into her old friend’s arms.
“Hush now. Don’t you go getting any mascara on my two-hundred-pound suit.” Lorne chuckled.
“Really, it cost that much? It’s stunning.” Sally said, admiring Lorne’s teal suit.
“I bought it for my best friend’s wedding.”
“You didn’t have to go to that expense on my behalf, Lorne. ”
“I didn’t. I was talking about Katy. Lord knows when that will be.”
Sally was taken aback for a moment until Lorne burst out laughing. She swiped her friend’s arm. “You always were a big tease. I’m over the moon you and Tony could make it. Is Katy holding the fort?”
“Yep, she’s warned me not to be late on Monday morning because she’ll be eager to hand the baton back to me.”
“She is funny. You’d be lost without her, though, right?”
“I would. Hey, enough about work. How are you feeling?”
After her mother left the room and slipped into the bathroom, Sally said, “I’m petrified.”
“Of going through the wedding ceremony? It’ll be a breeze. Over and done with within half an hour, I should imagine. Not that I’ve had any experience of attending a wedding of this nature. It’s a beautiful setting, though, love.”
“It is. No, the whole marriage thing. I keep asking myself if I’m ready to be tied down again.”
“Crikey! It’s a bit late to be having second thoughts, Sal.”
“See. I don’t know if I am or not. I love Simon to bits, but…”
Lorne grasped the tops of her arms. “But what?”
“What if he changes? Like Darryl did. I couldn’t cope if Simon started to abuse me.”
Lorne shook her head. “He won’t. He’s not the type, love. Take my word on that. If you back out now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You have to learn to trust that not all men are the same. If I’d thought that when my marriage ended, look at the joy and happiness I would have missed out on.”
“But Tony adores you. You only have to see the way he looks at you.”
“You’re missing so much if you can’t see the adoration that Simon has for you, Sal. Don’t have regrets or dwell on the past. Put that all behind you and enjoy your beautiful day and what lies ahead of you. Simon is one in a million, just like Tony is.”
They hugged again.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Sally’s mother emerged. “Did you manage to talk some sense into her, Lorne?”
They all laughed .
“I might be getting on, Sally, but I’m not deaf—or stupid. Lorne’s right. Simon is the total opposite to that other lowlife you married.”
“All right. I feel like I’m being ganged up on now. I love you two.”
“Good, then listen to us and do the right thing,” Lorne replied, hooking her arm through Sally’s.
“Come on. We should be going now. Are you ready?” her mother asked.
“I suppose so. Thanks to you. Let’s do this.”
Lorne took a hanky from her pocket and wiped away the mascara that had smudged under Sally’s eyes. “There you are. Beautiful as ever.”
“Thank you, my dear friend. I miss you so much.”
“Stop! Don’t start us both crying again.”
The three of them left the guest house and nipped across the road to the small chapel. Sally’s eyes watered when she scanned the room and saw all her fabulous team and their families amongst the congregation. Beyond them, standing at the altar, were her father and Simon.
Half an hour later, the celebrant said the final part of the ceremony. “You may now kiss the bride.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Simon said, a huge, proud grin on his face. “I love you, Mrs. Bracknall.”
“I love you too, Mr. Bracknall, and always will.”
THE END
Note To The Reader
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed this heart-wrenching tale? Is it time to stock up on the tissues?
Who knew such grave secrets could damage so many innocent lives.
As you can imagine this was one of the toughest books I’ve ever had to write.
But wait, Sally and her team are back in yet another heartbreaking tale, in Goodbye My Precious Child
Thank you as always for your support,
M A Comley
PS Reviews are like cupcakes to authors, won’t you consider leaving one today?
Happy reading .