by Alex Slorra
Downstairs, she found a pen and paper and started to write a note. Nadia came in from the lounge.
“I’m ready,” Jessica said, scribbling furiously.
“For what?” Nadia asked.
Jessica’s brow creased. “I thought you were going to arrest me.”
“I have news for you.” Nadia took a seat at the table. “It’s best if you sit down.”
The pensive look on Nadia’s face told her whatever the officer had to say wasn’t good.
“Early this morning, we took into custody Victoria Walsh, Brian Lopez, Jason Carter, and Ira Kapoor for manipulating the equity of Genism Systems and Hokthorn.”
“What!” Jessica said, staring at her. “You’re saying they…they—”
“They set you up. When Miss Walsh was brought in, she gave a full confession. It appears all of them were set to make a lot of money by raising the value of Genism Systems’ shares. She also admitted to modifying your laptop before the incident.”
“Victoria Walsh?”
“CFO of Genism Systems.”
Jessica thought about the night they had spent together and how all she had wanted to do was send her home. She hadn’t realised the woman was only there to frame her.
“I don’t understand. Why did she do it? I mean, why me?”
“Apparently, your HR manager, Ira Kapoor, arranged it. She had a grudge against you.”
“Ira? Why? I never wronged her. Or anyone.”
“When Ira Kapoor was interviewed, she blamed you for an incident with her sister, Myra Bedi. And for bringing shame on her family. I was told her rantings were rather homophobic.”
“Myra…” Jessica whispered. She remembered Myra saying her sister was hostile towards them, but she’d never realised the Ira from work was once Ira Bedi. “I, I didn’t mean to hurt her—” Tears welled up in her eyes. The old guilt of Myra’s injuries twisted her insides.
Nadia briefly touched Jessica’s hand. “This means you’re no longer a suspect. Anna showed me a video. It was enough to have the four brought in.”
“Video?”
“It was sent to this number from a mobile phone owned by Chris Brayfield.”
“Chris is a friend of mine,” Jessica said, after a moment’s hesitation.
Nadia’s tired eyes had changed from chestnut to taupe, and she gave a barely perceivable nod. She went quiet for a few seconds, before sitting up straight. “I’m sorry to inform you, but at 7:42 this morning, his body was found in Shadwell Basin.”
“My God…” The blood drained from Jessica’s face. It was as if her chair was sinking into the muddy sea. The same sea she’d just spent fitful hours dreaming about.
“I’m sorry. Mr Lopez is being charged with the homicide and the others will be charged as accessories.” Nadia turned to look over her shoulder.
Anna had walked into the kitchen. The previous night’s ordeal had left her with a bruised cheekbone and a black eye. She came quickly around the table and put both arms around Jessica.
“Are you okay?” Anna asked. “What’s going on? Why are you dressed?” Anna looked from her to Nadia. “I thought you said she wasn’t a suspect anymore!”
“Anna, I’m not. I’ve had some bad news. Chris, my friend at work… The people who framed me killed him.” Jessica started to cry.
“God, no. Oh, darling,” Anna soothed.
“Sorry, just too tired.” She looked up at Anna and let out a sigh. “He was my only friend.”
“Baby, you have me, Abbie, David, and Beth. This is your home. You never have to leave.”
The idea took root. It hadn’t instantly sprouted into an oak tree, but her gut uncoiled. The guillotine over her head was being dismantled, and she had Chris to thank for that.
“I want you to go back to bed. Please,” Anna pleaded.
In truth, she didn’t feel very well. The shock of hearing of Chris’s death, finding out it was Myra’s sister who’d framed her, and the throbbing between her temples had made her want to throw up.
Anna guided Jessica up, kissing her neck and cheek.
Upstairs, Jessica changed into a T-shirt and loose jogging bottoms and claimed the empty bed. Her body ached, and she allowed the fatigue to engulf her. Anna’s words—This is your home, you never have to leave—stuck with her.
She was unable to doze. The events of the last twenty-four hours tore shadows through all her thoughts.
Abbie climbed in beside her and stacked a pile of pillows. Propping herself up, she balanced a laptop on her knees. A half-eaten pack of Mini Eggs was dumped onto the duvet.
“Jess, please watch this with me?” Abbie asked. A programme played on the screen.
Jessica buried her head in the pillow.
“You’ll like it.”
Jessica turned her head and opened an eye.
“Here.” Abbie put one of the chocolates into Jessica’s hand. “Watch it with me, it’ll help you to forget things.”
“Okay.” Jessica stuffed another pillow behind her aching head. “What is it?”
“Wynonna Earp. It’s about this cursed descendant of a gunfighter who kills zombies. Well, they’re not really zombies but demons. The characters are pretty tough and smart, like you and Mum.”
Jessica laughed. “Sounds bizarre.”
“Just watch.”
Anna entered and placed two aspirins and a glass of water on the bedside table.
“Can we have pancakes? It’s Saturday,” Abbie asked, popping another Mini Egg into her mouth.
“I have to go out for a few minutes. But definitely after that.” Anna smiled, leaned over and kissed them both. She bent down to whisper in Jessica’s ear. “I love you. I won’t be long.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
ANNA’S YELLOW WELLINGTONS splashed through the sandy puddles on the edge of the tarmac. The sky was blue, and the sun warmed her skin as she approached a flatbed lorry with its hydraulic arm hanging above her Ford Fiesta. Two police cars and a grey van blocked both lanes of the causeway. Beyond, lines of cones marked its temporary closure.
Anna now understood why her car had sunk so deep. It had fallen into the channel cut by the South Low—a river from the mainland that emptied into the bay.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Nadia asked.
Anna nodded. “I need to be certain.” She watched her car being lifted out of its depression with water streaming from its seams. After it was lowered onto the road, the door was opened by a policeman, and a body tipped out. Anna moved slowly forward with her arms folded.
A few feet away, she stopped and twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. It was him, and he was most certainly dead.
It’s over.
She turned quickly and walked away. Her boots made a flopping noise with each step.
“Can you drop me home?” she asked Nadia.
“Yes, of course.” Nadia matched her stride.
“Are you’re going back to London after this?”
Nadia was quiet for a moment and, as seemed to be her quirk, asked a different question, rather than answering. “It must be hard running a farm with only the two of you?”
“It’s difficult.” She sighed. “Especially when I also work during the day.”
“You and Jessica should take some time off. You shouldn’t make light of what you’ve both been through.”
Anna nodded. However, in the back of her mind, she calculated how overdrawn she was. “Well, the animals don’t feed themselves. I was hoping to get a volunteer to help on the farm. But now…”
“But what?” Nadia asked, opening the BMW’s door.
“Well… With what has happened, I’m even more reluctant to let some stranger in the house.”
“Understandable.”
Inside the car, Nadia turned to her. “Miss Edison?”
“Please, call me Anna.”
“I don’t know much about farms, but I’m a quick learner, and I’m thinking I could help.”
TWO WEEKS H
AD passed since the tide had taken an evil from the land, and one of the first things Jessica did was to phone Anna’s ex and tell him they wouldn’t need his services anymore. John sounded dejected at first, before switching to speaking in a formal tone. She didn’t explain what had happened. She was just thankful they no longer had to deal with him.
Anna had kept Abbie out of school for a week, and now the students had broken up for half term. Beth and Katy had visited most nights, bringing around meals after discovering what had happened. In fact, many of the villagers had popped over to check they were all right. The next week, it had quieted down; it seemed everyone knew they needed time to themselves. Except for David, who would knock every morning at ten, asking if there was something he could do for them. Jessica would pat him on the shoulder and send him on his way.
“You know that’s going to make me need to pee,” Jessica said, taking the travel cup from Anna. Jessica was steeling herself for a trip to London, where she would close out the chapter in her life that had brought her a career and money but nothing else.
“I’m hoping the caffeine will stop you from falling asleep at the wheel. So, you’ll have to live with the side effects.” Anna’s blue irises had taken on a darker hue. “You’ll drive carefully?”
“Of course.”
“You’ll call me every time you stop?”
Jessica waved her new mobile at Anna.
“And you’ll be back next Saturday?”
Jessica laughed and hooked an arm around Anna’s waist. “Yes.” She slipped her fingers under the hem of Anna’s top to touch bare skin.
“Okay, you can have a hall pass.”
Jessica smiled. “You know I don’t want to go, but I need to sort things out.” With the case against her dropped, her bank account had been unfrozen, and she had been able to help Anna, despite her protests, by paying some of her outstanding bills.
“We’re in this together, right?” Jessica had insisted.
“But I can’t have you paying off my debts.”
She’d cupped Anna’s cheeks in her palms. “So, consider it an investment. An investment in us. All right?”
Anna hadn’t responded, so Jessica had wobbled her head up and down, forcing a yes.
Together, they’d gone through Anna’s business plan, her maxed out credit cards and what her outgoings were. Anna had covered all her money problems in a pall. It was a method of accounting that would’ve scared the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Jessica was determined to make sure their finances were viable so they could keep the farm and get Anna’s pony trekking business off the ground. To do this, though, Jessica needed a trip to London to put her affairs in order. She had enough savings to buy the farm outright if she sold her sought-after London flat.
Anna’s hands slipped up Jessica’s back and, as they always did, sent shivers down her spine. “Try not to get kidnapped this time.” Anna moved to press tightly against her, and they kissed.
“I could go a different week?”
Anna leaned back. “No. I don’t want you worrying at the festival.”
Jessica slowly slipped out of Anna’s arms and picked up her keys. The old Saab had been returned after a few days, having been found at the petrol station on the mainland.
“Say hello to Sarah for me,” Anna added.
“I will.” They kissed again. Jessica got into the car and started the six-hour drive south.
EACH DAY IN London had been a challenge to get through and, when they ended, Jessica managed to close off her old life.
After being reinstated at Hokthorn, she resigned. At her flat, she packed her guitar and a few personal belongings, before calling a home clearance company to collect the rest, and then she put the property up for sale. At Somerset House, she met Sarah for a coffee and chat, before hooking up with a band from Brighton at a rehearsal studio off Denmark Street. Finally, on Friday, she collected her Saab from a garage in Brentwood where it had undergone extensive repairs.
It was around 9:30 p.m. by the time she arrived at her brother’s house. Well, it’s still my house, but not for long. I should’ve done this ages ago.
She waited for the sound of a passing train as it rattled over the level crossing to fade before she knocked on the door. Darren was his usual self, overweight, perpetually hungover, and cantankerous.
“So, you brought back my Saab,” he said, looking through her.
“Hello, to you too. And, no, Darren, I’m keeping it.”
“Like hell you are,” he shot back.
“I’ll do a deal.”
He frowned. “What kind of deal?”
“The house for your car.”
His eyes widened, and he started to rub the stubble on his cheek. “Really?”
“Let me in, so I can sign it over to you.”
In the tiny lounge, she cleared a space on a dirty armchair by moving a tabloid paper and a few dubious magazines.
“Before I do this, I need to know about the guy who assaulted Myra.”
“Fuck, that was years ago. But, okay, sure. No skin off my teeth.” He offered her a can of lager.
“No, thanks.” She paused and waited to get his attention as he opened his beer and took a slurp. “He still lives around here, right?”
“The old scrote moved to Potter’s Bar, but he still uses the Black Horse as his local, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“And he’s there tonight?”
“He’s there every night. He does a lot of duty-free business in the pub, so to speak.”
A plump ginger cat waddled into the room and meowed loudly. Darren heaved himself off the sofa. “Let me feed Fatcat.”
While he was in the kitchen, Jessica made a quick phone call.
He put a cup of tea in front of her and eased down on the sofa. “You know she still lives in the same house?”
“Who?” Jessica asked, picking up the tea.
“Myra.”
Her hand started to tremble, and she put the tea down. “Myra still lives on Osborne?”
“That’s what I said, wasn’t it?”
They had managed a full hour in each other’s company before Jessica stood. She stuffed the vehicle registration for the Saab into her pocket while leaving the signed deeds to the house on a stack of video games that littered his coffee table. “Well, see you.”
He grunted and made no effort to rise. She made her way down the hall and outside.
It was dark, but she felt less spooked than a month ago, when she had been on the run from the police. She knew she need never return.
After ten minutes of walking, she arrived at a doorstep she hadn’t frequented in more than a decade.
The house itself hadn’t changed and looked the same as she remembered when she was sixteen.
She bit down on her courage, needing to know if Myra hated her after all the time that had passed. Not knowing had eaten away at her.
She rang the bell. After a few seconds, a light flickered on behind the frosted glass door. As the door edged open, Jessica considered bolting but, by the time she’d decided she would, Myra was standing in front of her, staring blankly. She hadn’t changed, except perhaps her hair was longer and her eyes had lines at the corners where there had been none.
She doesn’t know me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
The space between Myra’s eyebrows creased before a realisation spread across her delicate features. “Jessica.”
“I’m sorry, it’s late. I wanted to—” Jessica’s head dropped, and she wrung her hands.
“It’s been so many years! I’m so sorry about Ira. If I had known… Oh, I’m not being very polite. Please come in. I haven’t seen you in so long.” Myra leaned forward and kissed one cheek then the other. “Come in.”
A boy, perhaps about ten, appeared at her side. Then a toddler climbed between Myra’s legs, and she picked her up, balancing the child on her hips. “You two are supposed to be in bed.” Big curious eyes stared at Jessica.
“It’s
late. I just needed to know everything was…okay with you.”
“I should be asking you that after what my sister did—”
Jessica felt Myra’s eyes burn into her soul. “I’m really sorry about what happened in the Chinese restaurant,” Jessica blurted out. “I think about it a lot, and it was my fault.” Her tone wavered.
Myra shook her head. “That was a long time ago. You need to forget about it. I have. But I don’t see why you think it was your fault. There are bad people in this world. And, to my shame, my own sister is one of them. I’m very sorry for what Ira did to you.”
An awkward few seconds passed. “Your children are beautiful…” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I better go.”
Myra reached out to Jessica’s shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault. Believe that.”
Jessica nodded. Raising her chin, she focused on Myra’s brown eyes for the first time. “All right. It was nice to see you again.”
“You…too.”
She heard the door click shut behind her as she headed back to where she’d left her car. A large BMW was parked a few spaces along. The passenger’s window rolled down when Jessica approached it.
“Are you sure he’s in there tonight?” Nadia asked.
“Yes. He’s in the Black Horse every night until eleven and then drives home drunk.”
“Okay. He has several prior drink-driving convictions so another will send him to prison for a while.”
“Thanks for doing this for me, Nadia. I know it’s not in your jurisdiction.”
“It’s no problem. One last arrest for me before I leave the force.”
Jessica nodded.
“Best if you’re not around when he comes out of the pub.”
“Okay.” Jessica headed back to her Saab and waited until he appeared and got into his car. As he pulled away from the kerb, the lights of Nadia’s undercover police car flashed as it manoeuvred to block his vehicle.
Jessica got out to watch.
After breathalysing him, Nadia bundled him into the back of the police car. The moment before his head ducked in, he caught sight of her. Standing still, Jessica gave him a middle finger, then turned away.