Close to the Bone: An addictive crime thriller with edge-of-your-seat suspense (Detective Megan Thomas)

by Susan Wilkins

  ‘I think maybe Yvonne brought him to meet the family,’ she says.

  ‘That’s not what Marion Porter told us,’ says Megan. ‘She thinks her son wanted to marry you and when you turned him down he married your sister.’

  Penny stares at the wall above Megan and Vish’s heads. Her hands are clenched tightly. Megan glances sideways and catches Vish’s eye. They wait.

  ‘Is this true, Penny?’ says Megan.

  Penny unclenches her hands and folds her arms. It’s as if she’s holding on to herself, trying to cradle her own body. The life she had, the future she thought she had, is disappearing before her eyes. She’s trying to save herself and realising she can’t. Megan’s seen it before. When the collapse comes, it’s sudden.

  ‘Did you have a relationship with Greg before he married your sister?’ she says.

  Penny is deathly pale. She tilts her head and sighs.

  ‘Yes,’ she says. ‘He wanted to fuck me, he wanted to fuck us both, but he married Yvonne when she got pregnant. Barry told him he had to be a man and step up to his responsibilities.’

  ‘Did he continue to have sex with you after he married your sister?’ says Megan.

  Penny nods.

  ‘Could you answer out loud for the record,’ says Megan.

  Tears well in Penny’s eyes, she swallows them down.

  ‘Yes, he continued to fuck me,’ she says angrily. ‘In fact I think the secrecy turned him on. Greggy liked to be a bad boy, to break the rules. And he liked to have his cake and eat it. My sister didn’t want four children. After Imogen, she was a mess. Physically and mentally. But Greg liked the idea of a big family because he was an only child. He got what he wanted. He expected it.’

  ‘And you continued to have sex with him?’ says Megan.

  ‘I didn’t want to. I tried to stop it several times. I walked away. But when I said no, he took it out on her. She never knew what was going on. We both lied to her. But he still made it her fault. Sounds mad, I know. But that’s what he was like.’

  ‘When you say he took it out on her, what did he do?’

  ‘He beat her. Quite badly a couple of times. Then he’d cry and say how sorry he was.’

  ‘He’d cry to her?’

  ‘No, to me. He’d turn into a little boy and say how unfair it all was. How he wished he’d married me. Then he wouldn’t have to be like that. Yvonne wound him up, he said. Because she was stupid. He always blamed someone else. Nothing was ever his fault.’

  ‘Did he hit you?’

  ‘Sometimes. Then I’d refuse to see him. Then he’d take it out on her and the whole pathetic cycle would start again. Round and round.’

  ‘You don’t think Yvonne ever knew?’ says Megan.

  ‘Not about me. She always thought he had other women because of the things he said to her.’

  ‘What sort of things?’

  ‘Just nasty, spiteful stuff. And when she drank, it gave him ammunition to undermine her even more. It was about power.’

  ‘You understood all this,’ says Megan. ‘But you still let it continue. Why?’

  ‘It wasn’t that simple. I tried to encourage her to leave him. But she wouldn’t. She thought it was her fault, that he behaved like that because she was a bad wife. So I tried other strategies.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘He wasn’t much of a businessman, so I thought if I helped him it might take the pressure off things. And making serious money pleased him, so it did work for a while. He liked to think he was clever, a slick deal-maker.’

  ‘And was he?’

  ‘He could be charming. Quite good at selling his ideas. But he wanted it all to be easy. He thought that’s what he deserved.’

  ‘So you made it easier for him?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Is that why you introduced him to the Lopezes?’

  ‘There wasn’t that much for him to do, he was just providing a front. I thought it would work. Easy money. Everyone wins.’

  ‘But they didn’t,’ says Megan.

  Penny shakes her head and sighs. Then she gives a sour laugh.

  ‘Greg’s vanity, that’s what made it all go wrong,’ she says.

  ‘How do you mean?’ asks Megan.

  ‘He became fixated with Elena. He wanted her. Which was a joke. She was not remotely interested. She was married. And way out of his league. She’d flirt with him and Barry to keep them onside; that was strictly business. But he kept pushing me to set something up.’

  ‘Did you tell Elena?’

  ‘God no. If Javier found out, he would’ve…’

  ‘Killed him?’ says Megan.

  Penny gives her a ghostly smile. ‘Probably,’ she says.

  ‘Would it be fair to say that neither Greg nor Barry fully understood the kind of people the Lopezes were?’ says Megan.

  ‘Do you know how many of my bank’s clients have some connection with organised crime?’ says Penny.

  ‘Quite a few I’d imagine,’ says Megan.

  ‘But we don’t ask difficult questions, we provide respectability and we keep the money flowing.’

  ‘Are you ever bothered by the morality of that?’ says Megan.

  ‘Morality!’ says Penny, with a cynical laugh. ‘Compared to what? Governments? The arms trade? I can see you’re not a stupid woman, sergeant. You know there’s no difference. Everyone’s got their snout in the trough. Sometimes there’s collateral damage. It’s the price of doing business.’

  ‘Not in my world,’ says Megan.

  Penny shrugs. Megan meets her gaze.

  ‘What happened on that Tuesday night, Penny?’ she says.

  Tim Wardell shifts in his chair. ‘You’re not obliged to answer that,’ he says.

  Penny gives him a ghostly smile.

  Suddenly the struggle in her eyes disappears and is replaced by a look of resignation.

  ‘Greg had this totally daft plan to seduce Elena,’ she says. ‘He wanted to throw a party to celebrate the launch of the flats and he wanted me to make a pass at Javier. Then once Javier was out of the way, he could move in on Elena. I tried to explain to him how moronically stupid it was on so many levels. He accused me of being jealous of his interest in Elena. He kept pestering me, like a greedy child who must have his own way.’

  ‘Where was he planning to do this? At his house?’

  ‘God, no. He didn’t want Yvonne and the kids in the way. He was talking about the golf club. He’d already booked it. The whole issue turned into an argument.’

  ‘Where did this argument take place?’

  Penny stares at the wall above Megan’s head. Her eyes are glassy and blank.

  ‘I’d come down to see the show flat. Why on earth he thought Elena would just fall into his arms…’ She shakes her head in exasperation, then her tone becomes bitter. ‘He thought all women would do what he wanted. The sheer arrogance of it! And he expected me to help him. He assumed I’d do what he wanted. Because I always had. And I realised how stupid I was for letting him do that to me. I realised how ridiculous he’d made my life. And what a fool I was to let a man like that control me.’

  She dips her head. The tears are flowing. She wipes her face with the back of her hand.

  Megan waits.

  Then she says, ‘What did you do, Penny?’

  ‘I was so angry. I saw the hammer and I picked it up. And I hit him. And it felt like the best thing I’d ever done. For me. For Yvonne. So I just kept hitting him. And you know what, even now, there’s not one part of me that regrets it. He was a worthless shit who deserved to die. No one can tell me it was wrong.’

  Penny leans back in her chair, her arms are loose, her face streaked with tears. The tension of holding it all in is gone. Megan feels the relief too. Tim Wardell clears his throat. Vish folds his arms. No one speaks.

  Sixty-Five

  Wednesday, 5.10 p.m.

  Vish accompanies Megan to the Porters’ house. They ring the doorbell but it goes unanswered. Vish leads the way;
he knows where the side gate is. It takes them into the sizeable back garden.

  They find Yvonne and her children beside the pool. The twins are playing under the supervision of their nanny. Imogen is sitting alone on the side, dangling her feet in the water. Aidan is on a lounger, eyes closed, headphones on. Yvonne is smothering her legs in suntan cream. She applies it slowly and methodically. Her hair is wound up in a scarf, her face concealed behind large black lenses with tortoiseshell frames.

  Megan watches for a moment while she and Vish remain unnoticed.

  ‘How the other half live, eh?’ says Vish.

  ‘You envious?’ says Megan.

  ‘Maybe a bit,’ he replies. ‘The pool and the house and the stuff. But it hasn’t made them happy, has it?’

  Megan chuckles, ‘Plenty of rich people are quite happy. Why wouldn’t they be?’

  Megan and Vish follow a short path to the poolside. As soon as Yvonne Porter notices them she seems to freeze. She prods her son’s arm, picks up a towel and wipes her hands. Aidan Porter opens his eyes and blinks at them.

  ‘Hello, Yvonne,’ says Megan. She glances at the children. ‘Can we speak in private?’

  ‘Why?’ says Yvonne.

  ‘We’ve come to tell you that a suspect has been charged in respect of your husband’s death.’

  ‘Oh,’ says Yvonne.

  ‘Who?’ says Aidan. He sits up and pulls his headphones off.

  Yvonne waves a hand at the nanny. ‘Jamila, take the children in the kitchen and give them some ice cream.’

  Jamila dips her head in acknowledgement of the instruction.

  Megan waits. The nanny hustles Harry and Lucas out of the pool.

  Imogen glares at her mother. ‘I want to stay,’ she says. ‘I don’t want ice cream.’

  ‘Go with Jamila and don’t argue,’ says Yvonne without the least trace of warmth in her voice.

  Imogen gets up slowly.

  ‘Go, Imogen!’ says Yvonne.

  Megan watches the child. The look on her face is something between blankness and blind terror. The children are always the hidden victims.

  Yvonne glances nervously at her son. It looks like he’s been promoted to the role of the man in her life.

  ‘I’m staying,’ says Aidan.

  Yvonne takes his hand and squeezes it.

  Megan waits until Jamila and the children are out of earshot. Then she says, ‘As I expect you know, we’ve been interviewing your sister, Penny Reynolds.’

  Yvonne nods. ‘About the smuggling and all those people that died.’

  ‘Penny has made a full confession to your husband’s murder. And forensic evidence related to the murder weapon confirms her account.’

  ‘Oh,’ says Yvonne. Her eyes are hidden behind the sunglasses.

  Aidan stares at his mother and frowns. ‘Why would she—’ he says. ‘I don’t get it. She killed Dad? Why?’

  ‘Well, you know, darling,’ says Yvonne calmly. ‘She’s always been jealous of me.’

  Megan watches the two of them. Mother and son. She’s become still as a statue. He’s a ball of furious energy.

  He jumps up and rakes a hand through his hair. ‘Fuck!’ he exclaims. ‘She told me I had to protect you!’ He paces up and down.

  Yvonne perches on the side of the sun lounger. Using the towel she wipes each of her fingers individually. She glances up at Megan. ‘Don’t you hate the stickiness of suntan cream?’ she says. ‘I’ll have to go and wash my hands. Thank you for letting us know.’

  ‘Wait a minute, Mum,’ says Aidan. ‘Don’t you think there are some questions need answering?’

  Megan and Vish exchange looks. An understatement.

  ‘Did you know or suspect what your sister had done?’ says Megan.

  ‘I thought it was Elena,’ says Yvonne with a shrug.

  ‘Were you aware Penny and Greg were involved?’ says Megan.

  Does she know? She’ll find out at the trial.

  Yvonne inhales, her upper body becomes rigid. She carefully folds the towel. ‘Of course I was aware,’ she replies. ‘I’m not stupid. But he married me.’

  ‘What involvement?’ says Aidan. ‘You mean like sex? Dad and Penny were screwing?’

  ‘It was a casual thing, darling. It wasn’t important. Your father’s priority was us. He always put the family first.’

  ‘He hit you, Mum! He beat you up.’

  ‘Couples argue sometimes. That’s not important either.’

  Aidan turns to Megan. ‘Can I see Penny? Talk to her?’

  ‘Yes. If she agrees to see you—’

  Yvonne stands up. ‘No, Aidan! Absolutely not. I forbid it.’

  ‘Why?’ he says.

  ‘That woman murdered my husband. She introduced him to criminals who murdered your grandfather. There is no way that I or you or any of my children will have anything to do with her ever again. She can rot in jail. It’s what she deserves.’ She turns to Megan. ‘If that’s everything, officer, I really must go and wash my hands. Do excuse me.’

  Yvonne walks up the steps onto the terrace. Her chin is held high and her manner is regal. But it seems to Megan that she needs every ounce of her strength to keep her narrow frame upright. She disappears into the house.

  Vish turns to Aidan. ‘Are you going to be all right, mate?’

  Aidan folds his arms and paces. ‘Fucked if I know,’ he says. He wipes the back of his hand across his face. He’s crying.

  ‘You sure it was Penny?’ he says. ‘I always thought she really loved us.’

  ‘Perhaps she does,’ says Megan.

  He shakes his head and runs up the steps towards the house.

  Vish sighs. ‘That was a bit intense,’ he says. ‘Do you think she knew her sister and her husband had been at it for years?’

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ says Megan.

  Epilogue

  Debbie pours red wine into Megan’s glass. They’re sitting at the kitchen table. Evening sun streams across it from the window.

  ‘Killed by the sister-in-law he was screwing? It’s sort of bizarre, don’t you think?’ says Debbie.

  ‘Complicated family,’ says Megan.

  ‘What will happen to her?’

  Megan picks up her glass. ‘She’s got money, she can get herself a smart lawyer.’

  ‘You don’t seem very sympathetic. Sounds like Greg had a pretty abusive relationship with her and with his wife.’

  Megan sips her wine. ‘Yes. But it’s not straightforward coercive control. If Yvonne had killed him, you could’ve probably argued that as a defence. But Penny? She wasn’t isolated and trapped by him.’

  ‘You said she kept coming back because, if she didn’t, he’d take it out on Yvonne. I can believe that. He was a total arsehole who just bullied everyone.’

  Megan scans her sister. The pain is still there in her face. It seems unlikely she’ll forget what Greg Porter did to her any time soon.

  ‘I dunno, Deb. I’m not a lawyer.’

  ‘The people smuggling thing, that’s awful,’ says Debbie. ‘She should go down for that. ’Cause she actually made that happen. She was the go-between.’

  ‘Ironically,’ says Megan, ‘her culpability for that’ll be much harder to prove.’

  ‘The system sucks,’ says Debbie.

  Megan smiles to herself. Jim Collins would agree with that.

  They both sip their wine. Megan watches the motes of dust dancing on the table in the sunlight. She looks across at the dog in his basket. Scout raises his head.

  Debbie glances at her watch. ‘Hey,’ she says. ‘C’mon, it’s time!’

  She jumps up and heads into the sitting room.

  Megan gets up slowly and follows.

  The three children are seated in a tight line on the sofa. Amber is in the centre. She’s in charge of the laptop. It’s open on the coffee table in front of them.

  Mark is on screen. He’s smiling and waving. ‘Hey, everyone.’

  ‘Daddy!’ shouts Ruby.
/>
  ‘Hi, Dad!’ Kyle and Amber chorus.

  ‘Where’s your mother?’ says Mark.

  ‘I’m here! I’m here!’ says Debbie as she plonks down next to Ruby and leans in.

  ‘How are you all?’ says Mark. ‘What’ve you been doing?’

  The kids all answer at once in a cacophony of voices.

  ‘One at a time!’ says Mark. ‘I can’t hear you. Ruby, what did you have for tea?’

  ‘We had sausages and beans,’ says Ruby.

  ‘And chips,’ says Kyle.

  ‘Kyle ate all the chips,’ says Amber.

  ‘Well, he’s a growing lad,’ says Mark.

  Megan watches from the doorway. The backs of the children’s heads bobbing up and down in excitement on the sofa. Debbie next to them with her arm round her brood. Mark, on screen, but many miles away, beaming with pleasure at the sight of his family.

  Megan sips her wine.

  Debbie turns her head and glances over the back of the sofa towards her sister. ‘Meg, c’mon!’ she says.

  Megan shakes her head. ‘I’m fine,’ she says. ‘There’s not enough room.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Meg,’ says Debbie. ‘Of course there’s room. Get over here! Now! You’re family.’

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  Books by Susan Wilkins

  Detective Megan Thomas series

  Buried Deep

  Close to the Bone

  Also available in audio

  Buried Deep (Available in the UK and the US)