by J. E. Mayhew
“But you didn’t think she was planning to kill Josie Lock?”
“No. As it was, I couldn’t do the observations of Josie Lock, too much homework and school had complained about my missing deadlines. Drucilla was mad with me and did them herself. Anyway, After the Josie Lock murder, Drucilla seemed even more determined to break in. I had to keep watch. She said she was looking for clues but all she came out with were Cameron Lock’s baseball boots. She was so pleased because they fitted her perfectly.”
“And that was the first time you were suspicious?” Blake said, trying to hide the incredulity in his voice.
“She paraded around in those boots. When we were talking to Leech she’d often look down at her feet and then smirk at me as if she was sharing a private joke. I didn’t get it, at first. But then the penny dropped. She was gloating. I realised that Lock had been framed. All of Drucilla’s allure vanished. It was as if a mask had slipped and everything innocent and pure now went rotten and wicked. I saw her for what she truly was and it frightened me.”
“So you went to the police?”
“You know I didn’t, Blake,” Gerald said. “What would DCI Leech have said? He’d virtually been her accomplice as much as I, hadn’t he? No. I went to her father.”
“You told Victor Hunt that you thought his daughter was a murderer? I bet that went down well.”
“He told me to leave and to stay away from Drucilla. But he wasn’t angry. It was more like a warning. It was as if he was afraid for me.”
“Hunt told me that he had worked out what Drucilla was up to himself…”
“Typical of him to airbrush me out of the story. He’d never give credit to someone like me,” Rees said, that petulant tone surfacing briefly. “My parents were going on holiday the following week. Drucilla wanted me to stay at home. She’d dropped all kinds of hints about the delights that might be mine if I didn’t go to Scarborough with Mum and Dad.”
Blake raised his eyebrows. “A teenage boy turning down the chance of a wild night with Drucilla Hunt? I find that hard to believe.”
“She frightened me by this time. I was nervous in her company and too scared to say no. I hoped that by going on holiday, she’d see that I wanted to get out…”
Blake plonked the box onto Rees’ bed and opened the lid. “Lucky for you, then that Victor killed her,” he said, pulling out a photo. “We found your picture in the sixth box.”
Even though his skin was reddened with burns, Rees paled and lay back against the plumped-up pillows that surrounded him. “I was next on her list?”
Blake nodded. “Why did you take those shoes from Rebecca Thompson’s feet?”
Gerald Rees shrugged. “There was no malice in it, Blake,” he said. “I suppose I hoped that, if I took them, then nobody would link the murder to past events or to me. I just wanted Drucilla to go away, back to the past. But Drucilla Hunt doesn’t leave you alone. Not even when she’s been dead for nearly forty years.”
“This is an ongoing case, Gerald,” Blake said. “If you’re sincere about owing me your life, you’ll cooperate fully with any officer investigating it. We know who killed Rebecca Thompson. DNA evidence from under Natalie Murphy’s fingernails matches and she’s confessed to that and the murder of Marcus Hunt. But we only have anecdotal evidence of the past crimes. I expect you to help in whatever way you can.”
Gerald nodded. “Believe me. I will.”
Blake picked up the box and left.
◆◆◆
DCI Will Blake sat in his mother’s armchair with Serafina purring on his lap. The sun streamed in through the backroom window, warming him as he absent-mindedly stroked his fingers through the soft fur. Laura flicked through a pet supplies catalogue on the sofa next to him. “So, how has she been?”
Blake shrugged. “Fine. I haven’t really been anywhere much so she’s getting used to having me round, I suppose.”
“Hmm. You’ll have to be careful when you start back at work. She could relapse into those behaviours. Have you decided about the house?”
Blake nodded. “I need to square things with Jeffrey and Rosie but I don’t think there’ll be a problem. Once we have mum declared deceased, we can start probate and sell the house. I need to move on. Get my own place.”
“And how will Serafina cope with that?” Laura said, raising one eyebrow.
Blake smiled back at her. “I don’t know. I think we’ll both need expert attention.”
“Well, ‘To create a little flower is the labour of ages.’”
“What’s that meant to mean?”
“It’s William Blake,” she said. “You ought to know.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jon Mayhew lives on the Wirral with his family and has done all his life. A teacher for many years, he enjoys traditional music and plays regularly in ceilidh bands and sessions. Jon is also an award-winning children's author, his dark children’s books are published by Bloomsbury.
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J.E.Mayhew's Blog is at www.jemayhew.blogspot.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many people to thank. You for a start, for reading this book.
My wife, Lin for reading the various iterations of this tale and for listening patiently to my ideas and then picking holes in them.
Thanks to Barry Hutchison, AKA JD Kirk for help and guidance over the years. You’re a true gent and generous to a fault.
Rod Yates for giving me the low down on local policing. If there are any inaccuracies, they are there because of me not wanting to let facts get in the way of a good story!
Kate Bendelow, author of The Real CSI for reading the manuscript and giving me some factual pointers.
And to my local Wirral readers: Clare Hulme, Jan Jones, Amy Rebecca Thomas, Laura Colwell, Suzanne Thomas, Frauke Hoffman and Beverley Giles-Stewart whose comments have, I hope, made this an even better book!
Thanks to Meg Cowley for her endless patience and incredible cover-design skills.
And everyone in the Collective – you know who you are… Cheers!
More from DCI Blake
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Books By This Author
Fearful Symmetry
Hilbre Grove is a quiet cul-de-sac like many others on the Wirral. But when a couple return from their holidays to find a mutilated, decomposing body in their bungalow, The Scissor Man’s reign of terror begins. With another woman missing, DCI Will Blake is determined to stop the psychopath from killing again.
And this case is personal. As bodies pile up it becomes clear that the killer is fascinated by Blake’s past appearances on Searchlight, a true-crime TV programme. To hunt down The Scissor Man, Blake must face up to his painful past, and put his career on the line. But every home has its own dark secrets, nowhere is safe and time is running out for Blake and all he holds dear.
Fearful Symmetry is the second exciting Merseyside Murder Mystery thriller in the DCI Will Blake crime series.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
>
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
More from DCI Blake
Books By This Author