by Mel Sherratt
‘Morning, Sarge,’ said Amy, coming into the room. ‘It’s still nasty outside, but I come bearing gifts.’
‘Give!’ Eden clapped her hands like a child before holding them out.
Amy slapped a parcel down into them. Unwrapping the silver foil, Eden groaned in anticipation. Inside was a bacon sandwich. She bit into it, relishing it as if she had never tasted one before.
Amy sat down at her desk and tucked into her sandwich too. ‘Anything come in overnight, Sarge?’ she asked, once she had eaten her first mouthful.
Eden wiped ketchup from her lips with a paper napkin. ‘Uniform were called out early evening. Three people were attacked. All familiar names. And I gave Stacey Goodwin a lift last night. She’d been dragged into the bushes off the side of the path by Theodore House and had a tin of paint thrown over her head.’
‘What?’ Amy stopped as she was about to take another bite. ‘That sounds weird.’
‘It does. Obviously she was in a right state so I took her home.’
‘With paint all over her? What about The Mooch?’
‘You know I carry a roll of black bin liners in the boot of the mini. I practically covered Stacey from head to foot before she sat in the passenger seat. But I couldn’t let her walk home like that.’
‘Did she say who it was?’
‘I couldn’t get much out of her, which is why I’d like you to go and see her this morning.’
Amy nodded.
‘There was also an attack on Ruby Peters. Bizarrely, someone held her down and cut her long hair to short on either side of her head.’ Eden saw Amy frown as she continued. ‘Claire Mornington was dragged into a car, driven four miles from home and dumped in a lane. Not only that but they removed her jeans and shoes and took her phone and money so she had to walk home half naked.’
Amy looked outraged. ‘That’s barbaric!’
Eden nodded. ‘As well, someone beat ten barrels of shit out of Cayden Blackwell, our Jess’s boyfriend.’
‘Ouch.’
‘Two of the girls had notes left on them too. Keep your mouth shut.’
‘Fun and games as usual. Do you think it might have anything to do with the trial?’
‘It’s possible, although I had hoped it might be quiet at least until it had started.’
‘Me too,’ Amy agreed.
‘Which means that we might have to go out and see some of the SWAPs.’
Stockleigh Working to Achieve Potential had been set up shortly after Deanna Barker’s murder in April. It didn’t just consist of mothers from the Mitchell Estate, where the murder had taken place, but from all over the city. It was run by Josie Mellor, a housing officer for Mitchell Housing Association. Eden had gone along when Josie had invited her to their first meeting.
Some of the mums in SWAP were doing a great job around the city getting the teens involved in community projects they could be proud of. It took a lot of time to set these things up, and she and Josie got involved as much as they could. Since then, a memorial garden had been created in Deanna’s name. A small plot of disused land had been donated by the city council, and the local children and teenagers had raised funds to buy a bench that had a plaque with her name on it. A tree had also been planted in her memory.
Eden flicked through the notes on the screen again. ‘This might need nipping in the bud before Monday. How was your morning looking?’
‘Oh, you know, the usual paperwork, paperwork, paperwork.’ Amy stretched her arms above her head.
‘Great. We’ll both go out on visits.’
Eden got to work but Cayden Blackwell was playing on her mind. She read the report of his attack and his injuries as noted by the PC on duty last night. Cayden was a bright lad but could be heading for trouble. Eden knew he’d been hanging around with Nathan Lucas before Deanna Barker’s murder. She also knew that he’d probably had a lucky escape by being taken out of the equation because he was at Jess’s house with her on the night that it happened.
She sat back in her chair and thought of Jess. She was the same age as Casey, but she seemed far more mature. Streetwise beyond her sixteen years, Jess always seemed to be causing worry for Laura. Many times, her sister had asked her to talk things over with Jess about something she had said, attitude given, staying out late. She’d always done that, and it had worked on occasion, but Jess was very headstrong. Sometimes there was just no reasoning with her.
Being a parent was tough. Eden knew only too well how hard it was to juggle being loving and being firm, bringing a child up rather than dragging them up. She could clearly remember her mum reading the riot act to her and her sister on several occasions when they had pushed the boundaries too far.
Eden wondered if it would be worth going to see Lulu Barker, Deanna’s mum, too. If these attacks were something to do with the trial next week, then she might be able to calm things down before they escalated too far.
Chapter Thirty-Two
After spotting an article headed ‘Trial for Deanna – four in dock on Monday’, Laura decided to give Maxine a quick call. She had begun to get nervous about Monday herself and wanted to offer her support if possible.
Laura could tell Jess was worried, too, that her friend wouldn’t come out of the secure unit. If there was one thing Jess would talk about, it was Katie.
She worried about Jess not coping. Everything hinged on this week, the trial and the judge. They couldn’t sentence Katie – the evidence wasn’t there. Laura was waiting for her to come out too.
She shuddered involuntarily. It could so easily have been Jess that was locked up, on trial for murder.
‘How are you today?’ she asked when Maxine answered the phone.
‘I’m okay. I can’t believe all the attention the case is getting already though. Have you seen the headlines in the Stockleigh News this morning?’
‘Yes. Tensions are high I guess. How is Katie bearing up?’
She seems to have shut herself off, resigned herself to a guilty verdict.’
‘It’s just nerves as the trial comes closer.’
‘She can’t be found guilty of something she didn’t do.’
Laura remained silent, knowing that Maxine wasn’t after an answer.
‘I just hope she holds it together,’ Maxine added. ‘She was so low the last time I saw her. I tried to hold back my tears while I was with her, but Katie had no tears this time. If the media see her showing no emotion, everyone will think that she doesn’t seem sorry for what happened, but it isn’t like that at all. She’s blocked it all out. She’s resigned to hearing her fate.’
‘She’ll be better when she sees you tomorrow,’ Laura soothed.
‘But I feel like I can’t be there for her any more.’
‘I don’t think you’ve ever stopped.’
‘I meant that she doesn’t want me there for her.’
‘Of course she does,’ Laura insisted. ‘She’s just trying to cope, that’s all. It’s a terrible situation to be in.’
‘That’s just it. I don’t know what to do, because I don’t know how this will end. I don’t even know if it will end after the trial. If we can’t walk down the street, we’ll have to move.’
‘It sounds clichéd but try not to look too far ahead. Take each day as it comes.’
‘But what will we do if she doesn’t come home?’
Laura listened as if she was at work taking a call. What else could she do? The outcome of the trial could ruin the Trent family – lots of families if the verdicts were all guilty.
All of a sudden, Laura felt her skin flushing and was glad Maxine was on the phone and not here in person to see. She couldn’t help but be glad that Jess had been ill that night.
‘I pray it works out well for you,’ she said when Maxine had finished talking.
‘Yes. At least I get to see her tomorrow.’
Immediately Laura disconnected the call, she rang Jess. Maxine’s pain had rubbed off on her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
&n
bsp; Eden sent Amy to interview Stacey Goodwin and Ruth Peters while she went to see Cayden Blackwell and Claire Mornington.
Even having been a regular visitor to The Cavendales when her sister had lived there, it still amazed her to see so many impressive houses all in one place. No two were alike on the same street. Most had been individually designed.
The Blackwells’ house was on Peppermint Avenue. It was set over three floors with a larger than average two-car garage attached on its right and a garden manicured to within an inch of its life. Eden felt underdressed, as if she should take her boots off to walk up the driveway.
The heavy oak front door opened before she got to it. Cayden’s mum, Andrea, ushered her into a large hallway. Eden knew her vaguely through Jess. She was a smart woman in her early forties. Cayden had her dark hair and brown eyes but was stocky to her small frame.
‘Mrs Blackwell,’ said Eden. ‘How is Cayden?’
‘He’s still a bit shaken, but he’s going to be fine.’ Andrea pointed to a door and they went through into a living room that was the length of Eden’s whole downstairs. Andrea’s heels clicked on the cream marble tiles. Several white leather settees were scattered around a large television on the wall, complemented by black furniture. Vases of white lilies and roses sat on three tables in a row by a bank of windows overlooking a landscaped garden. It had the look of a show house, yet there was something homely about it.
Cayden was lying on a settee watching the television. His face was a riot of colour, and Eden could hear him sniffing, trying to breathe through his bruised nose. One eye was swollen almost shut, butterfly stitches above the other. Two fingers on his left hand were bandaged and taped together.
‘Cayden, Eden is here to see you,’ said Andrea, taking the remote control from him. She lowered the sound to almost nothing and turned back to Eden. ‘Can I get you a drink?’
‘No, thanks.’ Eden sat down on an armchair and looked at Cayden. ‘That’s a mess, fella. I bet it’s sore too. How long were you in A&E?’
‘About six hours.’
‘So you arrived there about. . .?’
‘I think it was after six.’
‘I was contacted at ten past seven,’ said Andrea. ‘Worst shock of my life when I had a call from a paramedic.’
‘And you were there until just after midnight?’ Eden continued.
As Cayden relayed what information he could recall, Eden took down some notes.
‘You think it was definitely a man?’ she asked afterwards.
‘If it was a woman, she had a good punch.’
‘Can you remember anything about how he looked?’ She noted down his last sentence before her eyes flicked back up to his.
‘I didn’t really see him. He came from behind.’
‘What was he wearing?’
‘I don’t know. Everything was dark, but he wore a balaclava.’
‘Did he speak with a local accent?’
‘I don’t think he said anything. I thought he was after my phone. I was trying to find a good track to listen to while I made my way to Jess’s house—’
‘You were on your way to see Jess?’ Eden’s ears pricked up.
‘Yeah, and I haven’t seen her since. She must have got the huff with me for standing her up. She’s in big trouble when I see her.’ Cayden grinned then winced as his lip split a little.
‘Go on,’ Eden urged him.
‘I had a whack across the back of my legs. I got up, turned round, pulled out my plugs and then he came at me again. I didn’t have time to defend myself so I dropped to the floor and curled up in a ball until he stopped.’
Andrea whimpered. ‘Sorry, just the image.’ She reached for a tissue from the coffee table and dabbed at her eyes. ‘It’s so awful to see him like this. He’s a good boy, not like some of the scum who go to his school.’
Eden decided to reserve judgement on that for now. ‘What happened then?’ she asked.
‘I guess I must have passed out,’ said Cayden. ‘When I came round, I managed to get myself to the end of the path. I can’t remember much after that, except arriving at the hospital.’
‘He was given some strong painkillers,’ Andrea explained. ‘They knocked him out for most of the night.’
‘Did Jess come?’ Cayden asked, looking at his mum.
Andrea shook her head. ‘Not while I was there.’
‘So she might have called to see you?’ asked Eden.
‘I don’t know,’ said Cayden. ‘I’ve tried ringing and texting her, but I’ve had no reply yet.’
Eden frowned. Like Casey, Jess never usually had her phone out of her hands. She stared at them for a moment before continuing. ‘There were several attacks across the city last night. I’m sure they’re all teenagers you’ll know, Cayden. Stacey Goodwin, Ruby Peters and Claire Mornington.’
Cayden looked at the floor.
‘All three girls often hang around with you and Jess of an evening. So far we know they were all attacked within an hour of each other, so it’s possible it was the same people who were responsible. There have been four attacks that we know of now, with yours.’
‘Wait.’ Cayden sat up. ‘What about Jess?’
‘She’s probably at home.’ Eden raised a hand to calm him. ‘Speaking to you is the first time I’ve heard about this, so I’ll chase it up as soon as I leave.’
‘Do you think it was one of Deanna Barker’s brothers?’ asked Andrea.
‘You can’t accuse just anyone, Mum!’ Cayden shook his head then stopped abruptly, holding on to his cheek.
‘I’m not accusing them,’ said Andrea. ‘I just want to rule them out. You’re saying that three girls were attacked last night, and then this with Cayden?’ She turned to Eden with folded arms. ‘Your Jess isn’t perfect, you know.’
‘Mum!’
‘It’s true. Ever since she started going out with Cayden, Jess has been a law unto herself. I heard she did lots of things after Katie was locked up, but you did nothing to stop her, did you?’
‘I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean,’ Eden replied truthfully.
‘Mum! Give over, will you?’ said Cayden.
‘I was told that she kicked in the glass at the bus shelter twice and spray-painted the side of the garage block over by the community centre.’
‘Rumours, Mrs Blackwell,’ said Eden, wondering why she hadn’t heard this at the time.
‘It isn’t true,’ insisted Cayden.
‘And now you think Jess is missing?’ Andrea continued.
‘I didn’t say that.’ Eden hoped that Jess was tucked up safe in her bed. ‘Why would you think the Barkers had something to do with this?’
‘They were always going on about how Jess and Cayden had started all this mess, for some reason. It’s such a coincidence that the trial starts on Monday, don’t you think?’
‘Wait.’ Cayden held up his hand. ‘I don’t care about who did and said what. I want to know where Jess is.’
‘I need to look into this further.’ Eden stood up. ‘I’ll update you as soon as I can.’
As she walked back to her car, she ran through what Cayden had told her. The boy might be able to fool his mother into thinking that he couldn’t remember much about the attack because he was concussed, but she had a gut feeling that he was lying. What she needed to work out was why.
She set off to see her sister. She needed to know if Jess was safe too.
Chapter Thirty-Four
There had still been no contact from Jess. Laura picked up the phone and rang Stacey Goodwin’s mum. ‘Hi, Sandra,’ she said, ‘it’s Laura Mountford. How are you?’
‘Oh, not so bad, thanks but our Stacey is in a terrible state. I can’t believe anyone would do that to her. She’s a complete and utter wreck. The paint has ruined her clothes, and it took a while to wash out of her hair.’
‘Paint?’ Laura questioned.
Sandra explained what had happened to Stacey. All the while Laura’s hand covered her mouth. She
couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
‘I’m just glad that it was emulsion,’ said Sandra. ‘If it was gloss, she’d more than likely have to have all her hair shaved off! But she got off lightly, I suppose, especially as there were other girls attacked as well.’
‘There were more?’ The hairs on the back of Laura’s neck stood to attention.
‘Ruby Peters had her hair hacked off and Claire Mornington was dumped a few miles from home, had her shoes and jeans removed and they took her phone. It’s appalling. If I could get my hands on the—’
‘And is Jess okay?’ Laura interrupted. ‘Only she’s not answering her phone and obviously if she was with Stacey then I’m surprised she hasn’t told me about this.’
A pause. ‘I haven’t seen Jess since earlier in the week.’
‘But she sent me a message to say she was staying at your house last night.’
‘She hasn’t been here, Laura.’
Laura’s blood began to boil. ‘I’m so sorry to hear about Stacey, Sandra, but I – can I ring you back? I need to see where Jess is.’
‘Of course. Let me know when you hear from her?’
‘Oh I will. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.’
Laura disconnected the call and went through to the kitchen. Andrea Blackwell’s number was written on the noticeboard. If Jess wasn’t with Stacey, then she must be with Cayden. And if she was, it meant that she must have lied and spent the night with him. She’d bloody swing for her when she got home.
But her phone went before she had chance to call Andrea. It was Eden.
‘Hey, I’m just about to read the riot act to Jess,’ Laura said. ‘She’s only told me that she was staying at Stacey’s overnight, and it looks like she’s been with Cayden. Oh, God, Eden. I hope she hasn’t slept with him, you know, in that sense. She’s only sixteen, and I know it will happen at some point, if it hasn’t already, but I—’
‘Laura – stop,’ Eden broke in. ‘Don’t you know what happened to Cayden last night?’