“I am Alice Lee, sister of the late Imogen Shaw.”
The young man hesitated. He seemed undecided whether he was allowed to give her information. Finally he let the bomb explode. “I’m calling about Linda Shaw. I got your phone number from the old lady’s address book.” He fell into an uneasy silence.
Charly felt her insides shrink. “What’s wrong? Why are you calling me?”
“One of Ms. Linda Shaw’s friends called us last night because she did not come to play cards as expected and did not answer the phone. When she was also unavailable this morning, the lady called us for a wellness check. We had to break open the apartment door and that’s where we found her.”
“What does that mean? You ‘found’ her?”
The policeman coughed, but Charly knew he was only stalling for time. “Ms. Shaw had a terrible accident. She fell off a ladder while cleaning and broke her neck.”
That evening, Charly was lying in bed agitated, miles away from finding much needed sleep.
She had lived more or less on the edge the whole day, hadn’t eaten anything after breakfast with Jake, tried to take care of Jody as best she could despite her panic, and called the London police again and again. She had asked them if there was no doubt that it was an accident, told them repeatedly that before Linda Shaw, her son and his wife had died in a strange way. She was put off each time. She had been assured that Adam’s case was still under investigation and that Linda Shaw’s death was indeed a tragic accident and there was not the slightest trace of foul play. With regard to Imogen’s suicide, she had been referred to their colleagues in Lewes. Of course Charly had refrained from asking there, knowing she would have ended up back with Jake. She had thought at length about calling Alice, ultimately deciding she didn’t want to see anyone and wanted to think about it in peace. Even when Jake came by in the early evening to change the lock, Charly couldn’t bring herself to tell him about Linda Shaw’s accident. Looking back, it was clear to her why. After all the doubts Alice and Jake had had over the last few days, she simply couldn’t bear to look stupid again.
Her eyes gradually closed and she snuggled under the blanket. Even though chaos was raging around her, and people were dying under mysterious circumstances, at least she didn’t have to worry about Jody’s safety and security anymore thanks to Jake and the new locks.
Weightlessness feels terrifying.
The strange thought accompanied Charly even beyond the nightmare. Breathing frantically, she sat up, staring into the darkness. The shirt stuck to her sweaty body, her heart beating hard against her chest. She had had that dream of falling again, only this time it was Jody who fell into the deep and, to save her, Charly jumped after her. She grabbed the water glass on the nightstand and took a sip, set the glass back, and sank into her pillow.
A shrill scream broke the silence of the night.
Jody!
In one movement Charly was out of bed and in the corridor. She ran up to Jody’s room, tore open the door, and held her breath in horror when she saw the empty crib. In a panic, she whirled around, suppressing the impulse to shout for the girl.
She searched the tiny room, even looked in the closet. Nothing!
She ran into the bathroom, searched it and was about to look in the office when she heard a crying sound that seemed to come from the first floor. She quickly ran down the stairs, searched the kitchen, living room, and bathroom—also without success. Jody had disappeared from the face of the Earth. When she heard that crying again, she stopped as if electrified. The cellar! The crying was coming from the cellar! She ran to the door, grabbed the handle, and was surprised to find it was locked. She hastily turned the key around and turned on the light above the stairs. Then she rushed downstairs, searched the boiler room and the laundry room. When she saw Jody sitting on a pile of laundry, sobbing miserably, she could no longer hold back her own tears.
She took the girl in her arms, carried her upstairs, and set her down on the armchair in the living room. “Lie down.” When Jody did, Charly lay down next to her, covering Jody and herself with one of the blankets, and took the child firmly in her arms, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“How did you get into the basement?” she asked.
No answer.
“Jody, this is really important. How’d you get down there? “She bent over a little to see her face, but the girl stared blankly.
Charly suspected that Jody was in shock when she realized that she was all alone in a dark room and stopped pressing her. She waited until the little girl had fallen asleep and then crept into the kitchen. She typed in Jake’s cell phone number with flying fingers and waited. It took nearly two minutes before he answered in a drowsy voice. Only now did Charly realize how rude it was to call him in the middle of the night.
“I’m so sorry to call you so late, Jake,” she said, the described to him what had happened. She also told him about the photos she had found within the last few days, and this time she did not leave out the accident of Adam’s mother.
Afterwards, there was silence on the line for a while, then Jake said, “I wouldn’t worry about Jody. Maybe she was sleepwalking. Who knows? She’s been through a lot of bad stuff, lost her daddy first, then her mommy. That kind of thing doesn’t go unnoticed by small children.”
“Jake, this is absolutely impossible,” Charly pointed out. “The cellar door was locked from the outside. How could Jody have done that?”
“Okay, that is weird, I’ll admit.” He was silent for a moment, then asked, “How about you? Maybe you’re the one sleepwalking. You’re under the same stress, and then you’re responsible for a little girl out of the blue. When women have children, they get nine months to prepare. You’ve only had a few days, so it has to be jarring.”
Charly let Jake’s words sink in. Could this be the solution for everything? Had she scrawled and cut up these photos in her sleep? Opened the windows and doors and locked Jody in the basement? Basically, Jake was right. She was under stress, completely overwhelmed by the whole situation. But was that enough to walk around the house at night and cause chaos? She realized that this was indeed within the realm of possibility. Hardly anyone else could do it, especially because of the new security lock on the front door.
Then Linda Shaw’s accident came back to her mind. “What about the fact that another member of the Shaw family is dead?”
Jake sighed. “Linda Shaw was an old lady who had lost her only child. A short time later, her daughter-in-law killed herself and ordered that custody of her granddaughter be given to a stranger. The woman was finished, Charly, you must understand that. And that especially when people are under enormous stress, the strangest things happen. They tend to make mistakes, not being able to think clearly, I guess I don’t have to tell you.”
“Still, Jake, all of this can’t be a coincidence. First, Adam dies because in a subway accident. Then Imogen supposedly kills herself. And now Linda? That must mean something.”
“What are you implying?”
“I believe Adam, Imogen, and Linda were murdered.”
There was silence on the line for a while, then a click. Jake had lit a cigarette. Charly heard him inhale deeply and exhale the smoke.
“You are fantasizing about something. I can’t say much about Adam’s death, but according to colleagues in London, they are still on the case. I can’t say anything about Linda either, because I heard about it for the first time earlier. But you know my opinion about it. As for Imogen and her suicide, which you think is more than that…” He pulled on his cigarette again, emitted the smoke audibly. “I can reassure you in that respect. Actually, I’m not allowed to talk to anyone about this, because the investigation is not quite finished yet and you are not related to her. But in your case I will make an exception, if you promise to let it rest.”
Charly’s heartbeat accelerated.
“You promise?”
She nodded, then sent a nervous “Yes” when she real
ized Jake couldn’t see her.
“There is evidence that Imogen planned her death.” He made a meaningful pause for which Charly would have loved to scratch his eyes out.
“Continue,” she prompted.
“Imogen left a farewell letter and there is absolutely no doubt that it is from her.”
“A suicide note? Why didn’t you say anything about it before?”
“Because I am not allowed to talk about ongoing investigations.”
“You think there is no question it was suicide?” Charly shot back.
“Our investigation is more about what’s in the letter right now.” He paused. “Anyway, it’ll come out, eventually. The letter says she doesn’t want to live without Adam and that with her death she may finally pay for what she did.”
“Pay for what? What did Imogen do?”
“Solving that mystery is what we’re working on.” Jake yawned audibly. “We suspect it may have something to do with Adam’s past history. With his fling.”
“I don’t think so!” Charly exclaimed. “I think it has something to do with Imogen’s past, and that I am somehow involved in it.”
chapter 14
Newhaven, June 2015
Charly had spent the rest of the night holding the restlessly sleeping Jody in her arms, calming her down, letting her know she was not alone. Her thoughts drifted again and again to the question of if it was possible that she herself had locked the girl in the basement. Perhaps a diffuse fear had built up in her subconscious, for which the events of the past weeks were responsible. Andreas’ stalker attacks in Berlin, the fact that she had seen no other way out than to quit her job, the deaths, the photos.
After endless hours of sleeplessness, she had gotten up, got her cell phone, and sent Alice a text message that she urgently needed to talk to her. She was startled when her call followed immediately, early in the morning at half past five. She had told Alice in a few sentences about the window and cellar thing, and mentioned Linda Shaw’s death and Imogen’s suicide note. Contrary to expectations, Alice had reacted strangely emotionlessly to the death of the old lady.
“I didn’t know her well, but from what my sister and you told me about her, I didn’t miss much either.”
Charly found this reaction very heartless, yet she had to admit that she too had shown Adam’s mother a certain reluctance.
When Alice offered to ask a colleague to switch days off so she could come over in the morning, Charly was touched, but insisted that Alice didn’t disrupt her schedule because of her. They agreed to have dinner together in the evening, and discuss everything after Jody was asleep.
Charly used the morning and early afternoon to search the house for any clues regarding Adam and Imogen’s death, allowing Jody to watch cartoons.
To the question that had been raging inside her ever since, what she was actually looking for, Charly did not know the answer even now. After a look at the clock Charly realized it was four o’clock and that she had taken care of Jody but had not yet taken a bite herself. She suddenly had such a ravenous craving for sugary sweet pastry that she looked up a simple butter cake recipe from the internet and managed to mix a dough within a few minutes. She was just about to put butter flakes on the golden yellow dough when the doorbell rang. She quickly washed her hands and went to the door to let Alice in. Jody, who had also heard the bell, threw herself into her aunt’s arms. This time Alice had brought a princess coloring book, crayons, and a bag of gummy bears for Jody, for which the girl showed great enthusiasm. While the cake was baking and Jody was busy in the living room trying out her gifts, Charly put on coffee for Alice and herself.
A little later, as they sat opposite each other at the kitchen table, Charly looked at Alice seriously. “Honestly now, do you think I am crazy?”
Alice frowned. “Why should I?”
Charly told Alice about Jake’s reaction to her theories.
“What do you expect, Charly?” Alice said sympathetically. “The man is a policeman, and in his job he deals with facts. And then you come up with assumptions, throw them at him and expect him to see it the same way…”
“But Imogen talked to Jake before she died. She told him about Adam’s alleged affair and that she didn’t believe it was an accident. Why didn’t he at least try to take her concerns seriously? Maybe then she would still be alive. Now Imogen is dead, too, and he still stands there and claims I exaggerated. This man is involved in both cases, and now he also knows about Linda’s accident. I just don’t understand how one can be so stubborn.”
“Maybe it’s you who is pigheaded,” Alice countered.
Charly bit her lower lip and remained silent.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” said Alice. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that at first you were absolutely sure that everything was connected to Adam. With his affair or God knows what else. Now you think there might be something else behind it. Something that has to do with Imogen and your past.” She shook her head. “You’ve got to look at it from my point of view. I witnessed Imogen’s change firsthand, saw her become more paranoid every day. I don’t want to go through that again, you understand?”
Charly swallowed against the tears. Then she gave Alice a pointed look. “You’re wrong, by the way. Adam’s affair isn’t quite over yet. I still think this is a direction that should be followed. To be precise, I am not closing myself off to any possibility of finding out what caused my friend’s death. I am open to everything, would follow any trail, no matter how tiny, as long as it leads to a conclusion.”
“What is it with you and Adam and his alleged affair?” Alice demanded. “Do you think that had anything to do with his death?”
“Maybe,” Charly replied.
“Okay, I’m going to give your view of things a try. So let’s assume there was this affair. After all, two people claim that Imogen herself told them about it, right?”
“Both Jake and Imogen’s mother..”
Alice stood up, leaned against the kitchen counter, and crossed her arms. “Then explain to me what this liaison has to do with Adam’s death? Do you think a woman would be able to kill her lover just because he chose his pregnant wife instead of her? That doesn’t make sense. What kind of woman would do that?”
“Your train of thought is absolutely accurate, however, you’re forgetting a crucial detail.”
“What is that?”
“What if this lover had a husband who got wind of the affair? What if he wanted to take revenge on Adam for cheating with his wife?”
Alice bobbed her head back and forth, then sat down again, looking at Charly with doubt. “Then how do you explain Imogen’s death? You’re the one who does not believe it was suicide and is certain she was murdered.”
“She was being watched! And she was afraid. I know that from Grace, and you said she suffered from panic attacks. What if she wasn’t sick at all? She wasn’t imagining all this?”
“Why would the husband of Adam’s lover kill Imogen? She had done nothing.”
“Now you’re teasing me,” Charly snapped. When she saw Alice’s hurt expression, she reached across the table for her hand, squeezed it apologetically. “If Imogen found out with whom Adam was cheating, she shouldn’t have had any trouble talking to her husband,” she explained more gently. “Maybe this guy felt threatened by Imogen, and that’s why he wanted her out of the way.”
Alice glared at Charly. “All right, so that would make him our first suspect. So far so good. Then how do you explain Imogen’s suicide note?”
“Perhaps she did not write it herself?” Charly suggested. “Or the perpetrator dictated it to her and forced her to write it so he would be off the hook?”
“Could be,” Alice reluctantly admitted. “But there would be another possibility, which you have already thought about. What if this whole thing really has nothing to do with Adam’s affair, but rather something from Imogen’s past? Maybe that’s what this suicide note refers to?
”
“In plain language that would mean she had done something that later became her undoing and for which someone was prepared to walk over dead bodies. And somehow this thing involves my past. And Megan’s.”
“What do you mean exactly?”
“Well, for one thing, there are these pictures. In the first photos Imogen’s face was scribbled out, on the others cut out. If we consider that Jody is not responsible and I don’t sleepwalk waving scissors, it means that someone hated Imogen deeply and wants me to know. Why does this someone want me to know? Because Imogen’s past is linked to mine. We were both friends with Megan and Megan is in the pictures. She happened to die in exactly the same place that Imogen died decades later.”
Alice stared at Charly, shaking her head. “The longer we talk about it, the clearer it becomes how right you are. It all might actually have something to do with Imogen and your past. That’s what scares me. There is something very wrong with this whole thing, and we should find out what it is.”
Charly breathed a sigh of relief. “Then you believe me?”
Alice’s expression darkened.
“What is it?” Charly asked.
“When I look back on everything again, I get sick to my stomach. Maybe my sister really wasn’t sick, let alone crazy. Maybe she didn’t imagine it all and was being watched, persecuted, and was murdered.” Alice turned her head to the side and sniffed. “Maybe Imogen would still be alive if anyone had believed her. Or maybe I’m starting to go crazy. This whole thing is freaking me out.”
“I don’t think any of us was or is crazy. Perhaps we can at least get justice in hindsight and try to prove that Imogen’s death was not a suicide. I think that would be her greatest wish, for Jody to know that she didn’t just abandon her.”
Alice wiped tears from her cheek. “Okay, let’s get started as soon as possible and find out if you’re right about your hunch. You take care of this thing with your past, dig in your memories, ask people from the village, former classmates, and Megan’s brother. We’ll turn Imogen’s stuff upside down. If everything is connected, there must be clues somewhere.”
I Will Break You (Best International Thrillers) Page 10