by Carla Kovach
Caro checked her phone again. It was now two in the morning. She listened to her father’s snores in the far bedroom.
Slipping out of bed, she pulled her jeans up her legs and threw on a T-shirt and hoodie. With shaking hands, she took the long metal nail file from her bedside table and popped it in her backpack. She wasn’t going to meet some unknown person in the middle of the night without some form of defence but she had to know who was messaging her and, most of all, they had something to tell her and she had to know exactly what that was. She pressed her lips together and swallowed. She wondered if she could actually hurt someone with a nail file if it came to her having to defend herself from being murdered. The thought of pushing metal through someone’s skin almost made her gag. Time to go.
Step by step she soon reached her bedroom door, avoiding the squeaky floorboard next to her wardrobe. If that rattled, then so would her wardrobe and her mum was a light sleeper. Caro would then be rumbled. Gently, she pushed the door handle and eased it open before stepping out. She exhaled as her dad’s snores continued.
‘Caught you.’ Jake turned on his torch as he stood outside the bathroom door, the torch he used for going to the loo in the night. He laughed and lit up his face under his chin.
She kneeled down and almost pressed her lips against his ear to whisper back. ‘Jake, I need you to not say a thing, okay?’
He whispered back. ‘Three bags of Haribo?’ That was his price.
Caro put a thumb up and he watched her go. One step at a time, she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw right through the kitchen window. The handlebars of her bike glinted in the moonlight. It was exactly where she’d left it, propped up against the fence. It would take too long to walk to her meeting point. Turning the lock in the back door, she flinched as it clicked open. Heading out into the garden, she grabbed her bike and started cycling down the path, through the estates in the direction of the woodland. As she listened out for the river in the background, an owl hooted from the tall trees above. Flinching, she stopped just before the thicket and stared into what was pitch-black night as a fox darted across the path only to vanish behind a tree. A branch snapped and her phone lit up with a Snapchat message.
Follow the sounds.
It wasn’t an owl. It was a person hooting. She leaned her bike against the thick bark of an ancient oak tree, her heart racing as she waited for another signal. It never came. Pulling the nail file from her rucksack, she took a step into the darkness. Mouth watering and stomach flipping, she stopped, knowing that continuing was a dangerous move but the need to know was a powerful lure.
Why are you stopping? Just a bit further. Come on or are you chickenshit scared?
She was scared. Her messenger had that right. She was scared of being attacked. She was scared that Jake would tell and she feared her mother’s reaction. The message vanished off the screen. With sweaty hands, she held out the nail file and inched forward.
A rustling of leaves culminated in a dark figure emerging from the bushes, setting Caro’s senses on full alert. Her heart boomed as adrenalin raced through her body. She brought the nail file round and pierced the person’s skin then ran. There was no way she was ending up like Jordan or Leah. The figure went to grab her but she pushed so hard, the person toppled giving her the advantage she needed. Blood thumped through her body and her head went light. If she passed out here and now, this person could do who knows what to her just like that night at the party. They all did things to her and still she couldn’t remember everything. She ran on her shaky legs, pushing through every branch until she reached her bike. Without glancing back, she rode away, needing to get home and back into bed.
As she reached her back gate, her phone lit up again.
You shouldn’t have done that!!!!! Bitch. You’re dead!
Then, the message disappeared. Caro knew no more than she had earlier and now, with an uncontrollable tremble, she entered the kitchen and locked the door before leaning back on it and hyperventilating. A shuffle came from the hallway and a dark figure entered.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. ‘Go away.’
Jake stepped forward. ‘Did you get my Haribo?’
She pulled her little brother close and hugged him, knowing but not caring that he’d feel her banging heart against the side of his head. ‘Tomorrow. We need to both go back to bed quietly. Don’t wake Mum and Dad.’
‘Okay.’ She held his hand and guided him back up the stairs in the dark and still her dad snored. Relief and fear washed over her. When she got into her room, she turned on her bedside lamp, that’s when she saw the blood trail down her hand. She had stabbed a person. She popped the nail file under her bed, hiding it away for now. The one thing she still lacked was answers but she now knew that she was looking for someone with an injured leg. Did she stab him hard enough? Who knows? Bitch. You’re dead! Who was trying to kill her? She shivered, cleaned the blood from her fingers with one of her make-up wipes and slipped back into bed but she knew she wouldn’t sleep. Someone out there wanted her dead; she knew that for definite now. Listening to the rustling trees outside, she wondered if he was there, watching; and even angrier now that she’d hurt him.
Forty-Four
The sun was coming up over Cleevesford General. The rain had cleared leaving a cloudless blue sky. Gina spotted Jacob’s car and gave him a wave. After a shaky start, Briggs had helped to calm her down and now, she had to focus. Nailing Meegan was everything and tonight, just maybe, she’d have a chance to really rest up or maybe she’d finally get Hannah to talk to her. She felt her heart humming away. Forget Hannah, for now.
‘Alright, guv.’ Jacob waved.
‘All good.’ She jogged a little to catch up with him and they headed through the entrance door into the long corridor that led to the wards. A cleaner was mopping ahead, the smell of disinfectant catching Gina’s nostrils. ‘I hate the clinical smell of hospitals.’
‘Me too, guv. Talking about hospitals, did you get your cuts looked at?’
She scrunched her nose. ‘No.’
‘That one on your cheek still looks a bit red.’
‘It’ll be fine. I only did it yesterday so it will look red.’
He shrugged. ‘It looks like it’s becoming infected. You might need some antibiotics.’
‘Will it make you happy if I book an appointment with my doctor when we get out of here?’
‘Yes. You need to before it goes gungy and green and it starts to eat away at your face and you have no cheek—’
She jokingly tapped his arm. ‘You’ve made your point. Shut up now or you’ll put me off breakfast.’
As they reached the ward Mrs Meegan was in, Gina pressed the buzzer and stared through the glass window.
A nurse buzzed them in. ‘No visiting on this ward until ten thirty.’
They held up their IDs and Gina smiled. ‘We’re here to see Sandra Meegan. She was brought in yesterday after a fire at her house.’
‘I see.’ The nurse picked up a clipboard, her nurses fob watch brushing the page as she leaned over. ‘She’s in bed four which is in a side room. I think one of your PCs asked that she be put in one for a bit of privacy, ready for when you came to speak with her.’ The nurse pointed. ‘It’s that one there. Knock and wait for her to call you in. She’s a little sleepy as she asked for sleeping tablets last night after the sedative and she slept like a log.’
‘Thank you.’ Jacob followed Gina over. She knocked on the window and glanced through to the room. Sandra lay facing the window, not turning to acknowledge the knock. Gina pushed the door open. ‘Mrs Meegan? It’s DI Harte and DS Driscoll. May we come in?’
A few sobs came from Sandra and she pulled the sheet up to her chin, using it to wipe her eyes. ‘I’ve lost everything.’ Sandra paused. ‘I knew you’d want to speak to me.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Gina sat on the plastic chair next to the bed and tilted her head so that Sandra had to look at her. ‘Mrs Meegan?’
‘Can you call me Sandy?’ The w
oman began to hack and cough. ‘The smoke, it’s on my chest.’
‘Sandy, what you did yesterday was nothing short of heroic. You must have really struggled to get those photos and the memory stick but you did the right thing in giving those to me.’
‘The right thing for who? I have no home now, no husband, nothing. It’s all gone. Do you know who burnt my house down?’
‘Sorry. Forensics have been and I’m hoping to speak to them later. Uniform would have interviewed your neighbours. There’s nothing for me to inform you of yet but as soon as I know something, I will let you know. I promise. Would you mind me asking you a few questions about your husband and the fire?’
She sniffed and shook her head. ‘I need to sit up? I’m all crunched over.’
‘Do you need any assistance?’
‘No thanks.’ She rolled onto her back and used her arms to hoist herself into place, then she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.
‘Can we start with your husband?’
‘Yes, I do have some things to share with you. That night, when the girl was murdered, I heard Frank go out of the sliding doors in the lounge in the early hours of Sunday morning. I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you.’ She paused and gripped the sheet. ‘He was angry when I asked him about it and I didn’t want to make him any angrier. He made out that he was really upset that I was basically accusing him of murder just because of a stupid mistake years ago. I knew there was more to it and my wheelchair won’t fit through the doors of the kitchen, which is why I was on the floor. I knew he was hiding something in there and I had to find out what. And I kept your card in my pocket. If I found anything I was going to call you, I just wanted proof.’ She swallowed and another tear slid down her cheek.
‘You’re doing really well.’
‘I really wanted to call you before but he takes my phone off me all the time and leaves it in the kitchen where I can’t get to it. It’s like a control thing. He won’t let me have friends and I barely leave the house. I don’t want to live like this anymore.’ She sobbed.
‘It’s okay, Sandy. You don’t have to.’
‘Really? Where am I going to go after all this? My family don’t want to know me because I stood by Frank after his conviction. I have a sister but she always hated Frank. She thought he was a creepy sleaze and I guess she was right all along. I gave up everyone for him. What a big mistake.’
‘I’ll contact the council. Someone will be able to discuss temporary accommodation with you. You will need somewhere safe to go when you’re discharged.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Did you know that another boy was murdered in the early hours of Tuesday morning?’
Sandra shook her head. ‘No.’
‘It was a boy who was also at the party on the night Leah Fenmore was murdered. I know you had reporters outside the front of your house and there were a few protesters. What was Frank doing that night?’
Shaking, Sandra reached for her cup of water and sipped. ‘He slipped out the back and left me on my own all night.’
Jacob scribbled away, making notes.
‘Can you remember when he left and when he got home?’
‘He left around teatime on Monday evening and didn’t come back until about ten in the morning, the next day.’
‘Did he say where he’d been all that time?’
‘He said he needed to be alone, to clear his head.’ Her voice got croakier with each sentence until some of the words she spoke were being eaten up by the frog in her throat.
Gina knew that gave him opportunity. Maybe Jordan saw him on the night of Leah’s murder so Frank needed to shut him up. It was possible that Jordan was blackmailing him. There was no evidence of that on Jordan’s phone. Gina had seen all his messages. Most were smutty jokes and arrangements for parties and outings. He did however have the Snapchat app and those messages would have disappeared.
‘Did your husband say anything else that you think might help us?’
She shook her head.
‘You know that him withholding your phone and leaving you trapped like that is a form of abuse. Does it happen often?’
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. ‘He’s always nasty to me. Says I ruined his life with my injury and I always feel guilty. I did ruin his life. I chose to jump off a cliff when I’d been drinking. I’d been arguing with Frank over what he’d put me through with his conviction and I saw the locals diving in. He told me not to be stupid and that I was drunk but I didn’t listen, feeling for once that I was in charge of what I did and he couldn’t tell me what to do. I knew straight away, as soon as my legs hit the rocks beneath the sea. It was as though I’d been struck by lightning. The next thing I remember was waking up in hospital. The locals had pulled me out. Frank took the news that my legs would never work again. To begin with, he promised to be there for me. Now I think about it, he was always an abusive angry person. I wasn’t really allowed friends and he pushed me around a little, mostly when he was drunk. I was never good enough for him and now I know why. He got his kicks by spying on unknowing people. I was just his normal life cover-up story and now this has happened. Two dead kids. It’s all my fault. I should have said something when you asked before. Maybe it would have stopped at one dead kid. That second one is on me and I have to live with that forever.’
Gina swallowed a lump in her throat. Living with extreme guilt was the absolute pits.
‘I just want to die.’
Gina scrunched her brow and swallowed. ‘None of this is your fault. It’s Mr Meegan’s fault. We’re going to make sure you get the help you need to move forward from this.’
‘Won’t there be a trial at which I’ll have to relive all this again?’
Gina nodded. ‘I’m so sorry. Unless he pleads guilty you would be called to give evidence if he’s charged.’
‘I will do it and I really want to do the right thing now. I owe it to the families of those kids. I have to do the best I can.’
‘You’re doing really well but I’d like to talk about the fire too. Can you tell me about the run up to it?’
She took a deep breath. ‘The protesters had been around in the morning but the heavens opened up and they left. It was tipping it down and I was stuck in my bed, as usual.’
‘Can you identify the protesters?’
‘Not all of them. I’ve given the police officer that was here earlier a list of the neighbours who were there and, thinking about it, I didn’t mention Lara Blakely who I went to school with. I met up with her again this week in the supermarket and we spoke. It all changed when the news about Frank’s past came out. She went from friendly to total hate and pitched up outside chanting hate with the mob.’
‘Blakely, I recognise that name.’ Gina glanced up at Jacob who flicked through his notes.
‘The mother of one of the kids we spoke to, guv.’
‘She said she had a daughter and a little boy.’
Gina made a mental note to speak to Lara Blakely in connection with the fire. ‘Okay, so what happened after that?’
‘They were shouting things like paedophile and I just wanted to hide away. Like I said, when the rain came, they went away. The noise had quietened down so I lifted the curtains up and couldn’t see anyone. I saw Jim Berry leaving his house. He got into his car and drove off. Not long after, Frank came back then he got a call from you and said he had to leave again. Only this time, he left the bedroom door open.’ Sandy shook her head. ‘Last night, he shut me in and pulled the sideboard against the other side of my bedroom door to make sure I couldn’t get out. When he left, he forgot. That’s when I decided to get to the kitchen. Once there, I searched the bottom cupboards and drawers. That’s when I found the photos. I laid them out on the floor before putting some of them and the memory stick into my pocket. Then, I heard the sound of a window smashing from the living room and I got a hit of chemical smell. I think it was petrol but it could have been something else. I knew what was going to happen. I began to shuf
fle in the direction of the hall but the smoke filled the place quicker than the fire did. I’m sure I heard it taking the armchair and the settee. I… that was it. I thought I was dead.’ She swallowed and closed her eyes for a second. ‘Then you came in and pulled me out. I half remember hearing Jim Berry at the door so he must have come back from wherever he was.’
Gina wondered if the man had popped to the petrol station to fill up a can before setting fire to the Meegans’ cottage. But then, Lara Blakely was angry enough to protest outside all morning. ‘Did you see or hear anyone else at the time the fire was started?’
Sandra shook her head and leaned back. ‘No. I just know that someone wants to kill me and the worst thing is, I get it. They think I’m a threat to their children, just like Frank is. From now on, I will always be that child murderer’s wife, the one who might have known. The one who might have been in on it.’
‘That’s not true. You found evidence and came forward.’
‘Try telling that to the angry mob.’
Gina inwardly agreed with her. Sandra wasn’t in the best of places.
‘There’s something else.’
‘Okay?’ Gina waited for Sandy to answer.
‘A reporter, someone called Pete, I think. He was being really horrible to me, shouting through the letter box. He asked if I got off on hurting kids before telling me that he had kids. He sounded really angry.’
A few tears escaped and Sandra wiped her eyes. ‘The worst thing is, I wouldn’t hurt anyone, let alone kids. I haven’t got it in me and I hated what Frank did in the past. I hated it but I also loved him, I needed him… I’m such a fool. I should have got out then and come back here on my own to start a new life. We would never have gone on that holiday. I could have changed my name, met someone else. Life could have been so different. Stupid, stupid, stupid…’ Sandra slammed her knuckles into the bedside cabinet over and over again until Gina grabbed them.
‘Please, you’re hurting yourself.’