Strategy

by Anita Waller

  ‘You’re a very wise, very sensible woman, Lily Montague.’

  ‘Thank you. I’m seeing things from one step removed, which is why you think I’m being wise. In your place, I would be exactly the same as you. Utterly lost.’ She hesitated for a moment. ‘Home?‘

  He nodded. ‘Yes, please. I know you’re right.’ He shifted in his seat to look back at the door, where Gainsborough still stood. He didn’t want to leave his Grace here. Not here.

  26

  Gainsborough walked back into his office feeling out of sorts. He hated identification of bodies anyway, but when it was a child …

  The forensic report on Jenny’s car was placed prominently on his desk.

  He picked it up and read the details. Traces of blood from two sources. First source identified as Ray Carbrook’s blood. Second source identified as James Oswoski’s blood.

  He slammed his hand down on the desk and yelled, ‘Gotcha!’

  Stella came to the door. ‘Did you shout?’

  He beamed at her. ‘I most certainly did. Can you gather the team in the main office? I need to talk to them.’

  She went to pass on the instruction.

  Five minutes later, he was telling everyone what the results showed. ‘In other words, for the mentally challenged amongst us, that car was used on the night of the Carbrook and Oswoski murders, and that car belongs to Jenny Carbrook, wherever she is. Her alibi can clearly have holes blown through it, because somehow, she travelled from Sheffield to here, then, went back again. Two women and one man alibied her for that night, but let’s not forget Lincoln and Sheffield are only an hour apart, at the most. She could have done it easily. How she managed to convince the others she had been in that flat all night, we need to find out. We, also, more than ever, need to find her. And I want a search warrant for the apartment in Sheffield where she said she spent the night.’

  27

  Erin walked in the room occupied by her father with a huge grin on her face. During the night, Michael had showed signs of waking up, and they had helped him. By the time Erin arrived, he was sitting up in bed, having sips of water.

  ‘Dad,’ she breathed quietly. ‘Oh, Dad.’ She gave him a huge kiss and wrapped her arms around him.

  ‘I’m back,’ he said, with a grin. ‘I don’t break that easily.’

  ‘You did,’ she said.

  ‘Well, I’m being mended. And I’m not in pain at the moment, so it’s all good.’

  ‘And have they explained …?’

  His smile faded. ‘That I have only one and a half legs now? Yes, they have. But it’s not the end of the world, I’ll walk again, I promise you.’

  ‘And what else have they told you? What do you remember?’

  ‘I remember running like the blazes across that schoolyard, and Jenny having to manoeuvre her car, because the cars on the road were parked nose to tail. I thought she would stop, if I stood in front of the car.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘Guess I was wrong on that one, huh?’

  Erin smiled, but it didn’t extend to her eyes. She wanted Jenny placed in front of her car.

  She took hold of his hand, and gently squeezed it. ‘I can’t tell you how good it is to hear you talking again.’ She paused, unsure how to tell him about Grace, and then, she noticed his eyes closing.

  ‘I might just have a little sleep …’

  She laughed and leaned across to kiss him. ‘Sweet dreams, Dad. I’ll be here when you wake up.’

  She looked at the nurse, indicating she needed to speak to her. They moved to the corner of the room.

  ‘Can you make sure he doesn’t see or hear any news? I’m just going to get a coffee while he’s sleeping, but when I come back, I’m going to have to tell him about Grace. He’s surfaced much better than I expected, so he’s going to have to be told today.’

  ‘He’s a proper toughie,’ Anne Carter said, with a smile. ‘When he came around, he knew where he was and what had happened, although not the results with regard to his legs. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he doesn’t hear of it from anyone else. And, if you don’t mind, I’ll have a doctor in the room when you tell him. You’re caught between a rock and a hard place with this, aren’t you? He’s not well enough to be told, but he’ll be worse if he finds out elsewhere. I feel for you, Erin, I really do.’

  They both looked back at Michael, fast asleep and completely oblivious to what was to come. He had aged, and Erin ached for him. This vibrant, loving man, reduced to a shell, by the selfish actions of one scheming bitch. One day, she would see Jenny, and it would be on her terms. And Jenny would hurt.

  She bought a take-away coffee and went to sit on a bench outside the hospital. The sun was warm on her face, but she could see black clouds looming, and knew the promised rain would arrive later. She wiped a tear away from her eye, and wondered how Mark would cope. She had known him such a short while, but had come to appreciate all his good points; the main one was his love for his children.

  And now, there was no Grace – no cheeky smile, no flash of her eyes just before an explosion of laughter, no spontaneous hugs. How would they all live without the beautiful one?

  She lifted her head and spotted Mark’s car pulling into a parking spot. She stood up and waited until he climbed out of the car, and waved. He saw her immediately and walked across towards her.

  He kissed her. ‘How is he?’

  ‘Doing well, I think. But, how are you?’

  ‘Adam’s coming home about five, and I’ll feel better then. At the moment, it feels like I’ve lost both of them.’

  She slipped her arm into his. ‘Come on, let’s go see if he’s awake yet. He keeps nodding off, so I came outside for a bit, had a coffee. I haven’t told him about Grace, not yet. The nurse wants a doctor in the room when we tell him. I just wish we could delay telling him, but we can’t. He could read a newspaper, or hear it on the news.’

  ‘Let’s go and do it. I’ll tell him, but if I lose it, take over, will you? I’m not doing too well, yet.’

  Erin could hear the strain in his voice, and wondered at the sensibility of him taking on the job of telling his father he had lost his only granddaughter.

  They reached the lift, and waited for its arrival. ‘I’m going back to Lindum Lodge from here, if that’s okay, Mark,’ she said. ‘I’m going to pick up Dad’s car – I booked it in for its MOT test a couple of weeks ago, so I’ll pick it up today. It’s going in on Monday. I’ll have it done, then, take it back to his house. Thankfully, it’s an automatic, so one day, he’ll drive it again. I’ll grab a taxi when I’ve sorted out his car, and come back to yours to get my own car. You okay with mine being on your drive for a couple of days?’

  He smiled down at her. ‘You don’t need to ask. Do you want me to see to the MOT?’

  She laughed. ‘Are you kidding? I never get to drive his car. I’m not missing this opportunity.’

  The lift came, and they got in along with four others, silent strangers. Two minutes later, they were with a still-sleeping Michael.

  Anne placed her finger on her lips to tell them not to wake him, and they nodded. They sorted out an extra chair for Mark, and sat and waited, both dreading him opening his eyes.

  Half an hour later, his hand lifted, and one eye opened. He saw Mark first, and he tried to move. The pain of changing position stopped him, and he winced.

  Anne moved swiftly, and told him to press the button regulating his pain relief. She helped him to rest more comfortably, and left the room to organise a doctor.

  Mark and Erin both held Michael’s hands, with Mark breathing a huge sigh of relief at how well he looked, despite many bumps bruises and cuts visible on his face. They would heal, his right leg would heal, and his left leg would become whole again, prosthetically. He was alive.

  Anne returned, bringing a doctor in with her. They went over to the stand, holding Michael’s notes, and Anne turned around and looked at Erin. She gave a slight nod of her head, before turning away.

  Erin leaned furt
her into the bed. She felt she needed to be close to him. ‘Dad,’ she said. ‘We have …’

  Mark interrupted. ‘Erin, I’ll do it.’

  Michael looked at both of them. ‘What’s wrong? Is there something they haven’t told me?’

  ‘No, Dad, it’s Grace. We’ve lost her, Dad. She died on Thursday.’

  There was complete silence. It was as if all four people were collectively holding their breaths, waiting for Michael to collapse. He didn’t. He simply stared, looked at his son and daughter, giving out a strangled cry.

  The doctor moved at speed to the bedside, and checked on the numerous monitors surrounding his patient.

  ‘Mr. Groves? Do you want to carry on with this conversation?’

  Michael nodded. ‘Of course. Leave us alone, will you?’

  The doctor and Anne looked at each other.

  ‘I’ll just be outside the door, Erin, if you need me,’ Anne said, and they left the room.

  ‘Why?’ Michael asked. ‘Why? Did Jenny …?’

  ‘No, Dad,’ Mark broke in. ‘Jenny kept Grace overnight, and the police spotted her car. They sent a truck to lift it away, but by the time they’d tracked down where she’s been living, she had taken Grace, and they were in Hartsholme Park.’

  Michael’s head moved. ‘Hartsholme? She went to Hartsholme, and took that young girl? What sort of monster is she?’

  Erin looked bewildered. Why did her dad suddenly appear to know things she didn’t know?

  Mark moved closer to the bed. ‘Dad …’ he said, a warning in his voice.

  Michael rubbed his hand across his eyes. ‘Sorry … so, what happened? Where do we get to Grace’s death, from a pleasant afternoon in a park?’

  ‘Grace wanted to come home, that much is clear from what Jenny said. They went to the toilet, and Grace ran. She ran towards the wooded area near the dock for the boats. It seems she slipped in the mud, went down a very steep bank, and smacked her head on a rock. She slid into the water, unconscious.’

  ‘She drowned?’ Michael’s face was ashen. ‘Our beautiful Grace, our mermaid, drowned?’

  Mark couldn’t speak. He simply nodded his head, glancing to Erin for support.

  She couldn’t provide any. Tears were streaming down her face, and she had no comfort, not for him, not for her father.

  Michael spoke again. ‘What do you mean, that much is clear from what Jenny said? You’ve spoken to her? This evil cow who tried to kill me, you’ve been in contact with her?’

  Finally, Mark could find words. ‘When Grace ran away from her, she tried to find her, but couldn’t. She rang me to tell me. She was in a panic, frightened Grace was lost in that park, and wouldn’t know how to get home to us. Within five minutes of that call, the police were all over the park.’

  ‘So, she’s now the heroine for reporting Grace missing, is she?’ Michael’s tone was bitter. ‘Just what else can she do to us?’

  ‘Gainsborough will find her, I know he will. It’s all over for her. It’s the best way, Michael. Better than any other way.’

  Anne came back into the room. ‘Is everything okay? Doctor is waiting to make sure Michael’s okay, but he needs to go.’

  Erin stood. ‘I just want a quick word with him. Won’t be a minute, you two,’ and she followed Anne out of the room.

  ‘We need to talk, Dad,’ Mark said quietly. ‘Now you’re awake, we have to agree I brought the letters to you to read, after finding them in Sheffield. Your fingerprints are all over them, and I couldn’t use them at all until you woke up. Please don’t think they won’t be used, if we have to use them. She will go down for her actions, but we have to think about Adam. They’re locked safely away in my office, and I have to let Jenny know I’m quite prepared to use them.’

  Michael nodded. ‘I know, Mark. I know you’ll do the right thing. So, you haven’t told anyone else? It’s still just the three of us who know about them?’

  ‘Definitely. And it can’t be anyone else. That would make them complicit in whatever crime we’re committing by holding on to them. So, to be clear, on the day I give them to Gainsborough, I will tell him I found them the day before, brought them to show you, and we decided to pass them on to him. It will only happen, if there is no other way around it.’

  Michael sighed. ‘My eyes are closing again, Mark. Next time I see you, tell it all to me again. I’m so afraid I’ll get it wrong.’

  Mark smiled. ‘I will, don’t worry. Besides, you have other things to worry about. Erin is taking your car for a few days. She’s having it tested on Monday, so she’s collecting it tonight and running around in it tomorrow.’

  ‘Oh, no,’ he said, his eyes closed. ‘Not my car …’

  Erin walked back into the room. ‘Dad, they’re …’ She looked across at the bed. ‘He’s asleep!’

  Mark nodded. ‘Must be pretty powerful drugs he’s on. It’s like switching a light off.’

  ‘Oh, well, I guess he’ll find out soon enough. They’re moving him to a general ward tomorrow, but in a side room. He needs quiet, but doesn’t need such intensive nursing now. So, from tomorrow, it’s normal visiting times.’

  ‘Let’s go home, Erin. You’ll stay for a meal? I think Sally’s doing something, and I really need to see Adam.’

  ‘Thanks, I will. I can’t imagine for one minute I’ll be seeing Seb.’

  Mark’s face registered surprise. ‘Oh?’

  ‘I think it’s over. He’s been cooling off for a couple of weeks, so I think it’s dying a natural death. I’ll be sorry, but not heartbroken. I just would have liked an explanation.’

  He held the room door open for her. ‘Come on, let’s go and get drunk.’

  ‘Good idea, bro, good idea.’

  28

  It was raining heavily when they reached the car park, and they ran to their cars. Erin thought back to Mark’s words concerning getting drunk, and although the idea might appeal on a grand scale, she knew it would never happen; not while there was a possibility of a phone call from the hospital saying they needed to come in.

  She felt almost resigned to losing Sebastian, and was beginning to realise he hadn’t said the actual words, ‘We’re through’, because she was going through some serious stuff at the moment. Erin still felt she would have liked the parting of the ways to have been vocal, but clearly, that wasn’t going to happen.

  She followed Mark’s car back to Lindum Lodge, and parked hers by the side of the silver Lexus belonging to Michael. It was sheer bliss to drive, and she thought she might just continue to use it, until he was ready to drive himself once more. She smiled as she imagined the look on his face if she were to even suggest it, let alone do it.

  The small parking area was now full – Mark’s car, Tim and Steve’s hired car, Tommy and Sally’s car, her car, and the Lexus. And an Astra she didn’t recognise. Full house. She doubted they could even squeeze a pushbike into the small plot.

  Mark waited for her to get out of her car, a puzzled expression on his face as to the owner of the strange car, and they went into the house together. Adam immediately ran to his dad, and put his arms around him. No words were said, they just held each other tightly. Another came up, sharing the embrace.

  ‘Caro,’ he breathed. ‘The Astra.’

  ‘Got it in one, bro. I’m here for as long as you need me.’

  ‘Luc?’

  ‘Covering my job until I return.’

  They clung to each other, tears rolling down Caroline’s cheeks.

  Sally and Tommy had visibly aged. Not only had their minds already had to come to terms with losing their daughter to a long prison sentence, they now had lost their granddaughter in the worst possible way, and as a result of actions taken by their daughter.

  Sally watched Mark, Caro, and Adam as they clung to each other, and once again, tears began to coat her cheeks, matching the tears on Caro’s cheeks. She felt as though she hadn’t stopped crying since the previous Wednesday night, when her world had imploded. She stumbled into
the kitchen and sat at the table, her head cradled on her arms.

  Tommy came and stood behind her, his arms around her shoulders. ‘Come on, sweetheart. We need to be strong for everyone,’ he whispered. ‘Don’t let Adam see you like this.’

  She lifted her head and looked at him. ‘I just feel as if I’ve lost everything that’s precious to me. What on earth was Jenny thinking of when she ran Michael down? And where the hell is she? What caused her to change from a kind, gentle person to the animal she appears to have become? What caused it, Tommy?’ Her voice was increasing in volume the more distraught she became, and Erin moved towards the kitchen. One glance, and she could see the terrible state of Sally, and the lost expression on Tommy’s face.

  ‘Come on,’ Erin said. ‘You’re not on your own in this. We’re all sharing the burden. Maybe we’ll have answers when they find Jenny, and maybe, we won’t.’

  ‘But … your dad. I feel so guilty, Erin, so guilty. It’s our daughter who did that to him. Our Jenny.’ Sally was stammering, as she tried to get her words out coherently.

  Erin nodded. ‘I know. And one day, Jenny will stand in front of me, and I will hurt her. But, she’s not you, Sally. You don’t need to feel guilty. Jenny is an adult, she makes her own choices, her own decisions. Nobody, absolutely nobody, blames you – not for Dad’s injuries, and not for Grace’s death.’

  Tommy hoped his wife was listening; he had tried to say the same thing to her, but she wouldn’t accept it from him. Maybe Erin’s words would have more effect.

  ‘Come on, Sally. Let’s get some food prepared to feed this family.’

  The two women moved to the work surface, and Sally began to peel potatoes while Erin sorted out some vegetables. It would be makeshift; nobody appeared to be doing any supermarket shopping in this household. Caro wandered in and asked what she could do to help, and was told setting the table would be good.

  The meal was good, despite their initial thoughts, and bottles of wine helped it to go down. Erin volunteered to remain sober; she was taking no chances.