Conflicted Innocence (19 page)

Chapter 35

Simon peered around the bedroom door. “Knock, knock,” he said, before kicking it wide open. He carried a tray filled with all sorts of goodies, and plonked it onto the bed beside me.

“What time is it?”

“Almost ten. Grace is at the nursery. Kevin and I walked her around there. James popped into town for something or other, and he told me to feed you up, so ta-da.”

I wriggled into a sitting position, careful not to disturb the contents of the tray.

“I made all your favourites.”

I peered at the piles of food, and my stomach clenched. “I...” I blew out my cheeks noisily. “I’m really not hungry. I’m sorry.”

His face fell. “But I got honey-smoked bacon and grilled it the way you like it.”

I shrugged in an apology.

“I even poached the eggs myself.”

“It’s really sweet of you, but I just couldn’t eat it yet. I’ll drink the coffee though.”

He handed me the cup before lifting the tray from the bed and placing it on the sideboard.

“Shove up then, fatty. I need to hear everything. James said heaps has happened since we last spoke.” He climbed in beside me.

“Gosh. Where do I begin?”

“At the beginning. I’ve got all the time in the world. We’re staying till Sunday.”

I groaned.

“Hey, cheeky bitch.”

We both laughed.

“Okay. Well, when we were on the phone, I told you the crazy neighbour was attacking a young woman on the street, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“She turned out to be Lydia’s sister.”

“And Lydia is?”

“Lee’s wife. Next door. Keep up.”

“Oh, yeah. James told us she was back on the scene. The wife I mean.”

“Oh, yes. I forgot he didn’t tell you. He told you they’d lost a baby though?”

“Ah, yes. I remember now.”

“What he didn’t tell you was Lydia had been convicted of killing her baby—drowning him in the bath.”

“Fu-uck!”

“I know. Well, it turns out she didn’t do it. Although Lydia wasn’t totally innocent. She’d necked half a bottle of vodka that morning before going back to bed.”

“Who did it, then?”

“Her little sister. She was only eleven at the time, and she came round to find the baby in his cot and decided to help her sister out by bathing him.”

“And she drowned him instead?”

“Not quite. She left him sitting up playing while she took a phone call. When she got back, he was dead. Must’ve fallen over.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah—but the worst thing is the way she allowed her sister to think she’d killed her own son.”

“How did you find out?”

“I worked it out. This is the second murder I’ve solved this week.”

“Shut up!”

“I’m serious. James and I solved a historic murder a couple of days ago.”

“True?”

“Yes, cross my heart. James offered me a job. I’m now his chief investigator.”

He barked out a laugh before covering his mouth and trying to straighten his face. “Sorry.”

“What’s so funny?”

“You two. A double act. Dempsey and Makepeace—oh no, they were both women. Mulder and Skully perhaps?”

“Shut-up, you dick!” I laughed, closing my eyes as my head throbbed once again. “You’ve got to stop making me laugh, you know. It hurts.”

“They say laughter is the best medicine.”

“Not for a head injury it’s not.”

“James said you had almost thirty stitches.”

“Did I? I didn’t know that. Obviously I knew I had stitches, just not how many.”

“So, carry on. Tell me. I’m dying to know what happened.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I confronted Candice, and she attacked me.”

“And where is she now?”

I shrugged. “She’s done a runner.”

“The little bitch! She had better not show her face around here again. I’ll wipe the floor with her.”

“No fear of that. She’s probably long gone by now.” I handed him my empty cup. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get dressed and go to the loo. I’ll see you downstairs.”

Chapter 36

By the time I made it downstairs, James had returned.

“I was just about to come and see how you’re feeling. Are you sure you should be up and about?”

“I’m fine. I feel a lot better—if I don’t laugh!” I eyeballed Simon who was sprawled on the sofa next to Kevin.

“Charming. You know if you read those crappy magazines you buy, you’d see most women want a funny man—someone to make them laugh.” Simon huffed.

“Yeah, but most of them also prefer their men to like women.” I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

“Touché!” James said. “She’s feeling better alright.”

“Did you hear from Lee?” I asked James.

“No. I knocked earlier, but there was no answer. He isn’t at the office either. I did get a call from the Manchester police. They interviewed Monica and Harold and have charged them with murder.”

I felt a little sorry for the nice old couple we’d met a few days ago.

“It’s hard to shake the image of those lovely old people. They reminded me of my grandparents,” I said.

“They weren’t always old and sweet. They were, in fact, cold-blooded killers who got away with it for years. But truth be told, Monica probably won’t notice any difference—she’ll be moved to a secure unit, and fed and watered just like she is now. But Harold, now there’s a different story.”

“Do the crime, you got to do the time,” Simon said.

“How very cliché of you.” I laughed.

There was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it. You sit down,” James said, kissing me on the top of my head.

He returned with Lee and Lydia.

“Fancy a cuppa?” James asked and headed through to the kitchen. Lee followed him.

“How are you?” Lydia asked, perching on the arm of my chair.

“I’m fine. What about you?”

She shrugged and glanced around.

“Oh, sorry. Lydia, this is my ex-husband, Simon, and his partner Kevin.”

Simon laughed. “Why do you always introduce us so dramatically? The poor woman doesn’t know where to put her face.” He got to his feet and shook Lydia’s hand. “Pleased to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to the market. Can I get you anything, Geri?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

We waved them off, and I turned back to Lydia.

“So, what’s happened?”

“We reported it to the police. They will want to question you later on. I asked them to leave it as long as they could because of your injury.”

“I’m fine. They can come anytime, for me, the sooner the better. If they leave it much longer, Candice will be gone for good.”

“They are supposedly looking for her, but I got the feeling they didn’t believe me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Oh, they said all the right things, took my statement and everything, but you know when you get a feeling?”

“Well, I’ll give them what for when I see them. They can’t say this isn’t real.” I touched my head.

“I thought they would have been to question you already, over the assault.”

“Maybe the hospital didn’t report it?”

“The ambulance should, surely?”

“Well, we’ll soon rectify that.” I reached for the phone and dialled the police.

“I want to report an assault.”

I told them briefly what happened and they said someone would be around to take my statement shortly.

“Thanks, Geri. I don’t know if it’ll speed anything up, but it can’t hurt, can it?”

“I’m only sorry this has happened now. You were just getting your groove back, and now the light has gone from your eyes again.”

“It’s not just that, if I’m honest. In fact, I’m grateful. At least I know I didn’t kill my baby now.”

“Then what is it?”

She glanced towards the door. “It’s silly, really.”

“Go on.”

“If I tell you something, you’ve got to promise to keep it to yourself.”

“Of course I do.”

“You know how we went to the cottage yesterday?”

I nodded, leaning closer to hear her whispered voice.

“We bumped into the local takeaway owner and he said he saw the dead girl get into Lee’s car.”

The hair bristled on the back of my neck. “Really? What did Lee say?”

“He said he was mistaken, but Lee was angry. Agitated. He couldn’t get away from the guy fast enough, and I can tell when Lee’s lying.”

“So you think it’s true?”

She nodded. “I hope not, but I have an awful feeling there’s more to this.”

My heart broke for the woman before me. She’d had such a crap few years. Not only had she lost her baby son, and been convicted of his death, but now her sister was wanted for assault and soon to be murder, and there was a chance her husband could be involved in the death of a young girl.

“Maybe the guy
was
mistaken.”

“Then why would Lee act so strangely?”

“He’s been charged with murdering those two intruders, and, as it lies, he’s bound to get off with it. But imagine the shit storm that would go down if somebody gives evidence to say Lee took the girl in his car?”

She nodded, looking down at her hands as though inspecting them closely. “So you don’t think it’s true?”

“No. This is Lee we’re talking about. He’s no more likely to have killed anybody than you or me.”

“Then why did he lie to the police?” she hissed.

“I don’t get you.”

“They asked him about three hundred pounds in cash they found in the girl’s pocket. He told them he didn’t know anything about it, but I checked the bank statement.”

“And?”

“He took three hundred pounds cash out on the day before I was released. He also paid for something on his credit card. I checked, and it was for a week’s stay at a backpackers. I called them, and they said nobody showed up.”

I didn’t know what to say. My mind whizzed with all the new information. A car door slammed, and I lifted in my seat to peer out of the window. Two uniformed police officers were strolling down the path.

“The police are here,” I said, in a panic.

“Are they? Already? I’ll let them in and leave you to it.”

“But we still need to talk. Pop around again later.”

“Oh, no. Don’t worry yourself about it. I’m sure I’m just over-dramatizing everything, as usual.” She patted my hand before heading for the front door.

James suddenly appeared at the kitchen door, looking concerned.

“I called them to report my assault.”

“Okay. He nodded.

Lydia showed the two large and intimidating officers through to the lounge, before ducking into the kitchen with Lee.

“Geraldine McIntyre?” the older of the two said.

“Yes. Take a seat, please. Excuse me if I don’t get up, but...” I touched the bandage.

“No problem, I’m PC Everett and this is PC Darlington. We’re here to ask you a few questions about a Miss Candice Fowler.”

“Yes. I just called to report the assault but, even with the best will in the world, you couldn’t have got here that fast.”

“We are acting on a complaint from your neighbour, Mrs Lydia Barnes. She said her sister confessed to you that she was responsible for the death of Lydia’s son a number of years ago.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Can you tell us, in your own words, exactly what happened?”

*

I was exhausted by the time they left and wanted nothing more than to crawl back in my bed. But James, Lee and Lydia wanted a blow by blow account.

They shuffled into the lounge in single file and all sat staring at me.

“They are going to ramp up the search for Candice, but first they need to question Thomas.”

“Good luck with that,” Lee mumbled.

“You never know. He’s aware how important it is. And anyway, it’s not necessary. She assaulted me, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but it’s your word against hers at this stage. It would be much better if there was another witness,” Lydia said. “I want them to lock the evil bitch up and throw away the key.”

Lee put his arm around her. “They will, babe. As soon as they find her.”

“She could be miles away by now,” she said.

“I doubt it. She’s not taken her bag, her phone, any of her clothes. Chances are she’s laying low somewhere close by. The police will find her. We’ve just got to have faith.”

“I agree,” James said, turning to me. “Now, you, bed. You look terrible, and I’m going to make you a sandwich and watch you eat every last mouthful, and then you will rest for a couple of hours.”

I opened my mouth to object, but he held his hand up.

“Save it. It’s my way, or I’m marching your arse back to the hospital. Got it?”

“Big bully,” I said.

“We’ll be off now. Leave you to it.” Lee pulled Lydia to her feet.

Lydia bent to hug me. “Thanks,” she whispered in my ear.

I rubbed her arm and nodded. “See you later.”

“Right, up the apples and pears. I’ll bring you a sandwich and a cuppa in a few minutes.”

“Okay, dad.” I laughed and headed for the stairs.

Climbing into bed, I thought about what Lydia had said. Could Lee really have had more to do with the deaths of those two teenagers? I honestly couldn’t see it, but, although I promised to keep her secret, I decided to tell James after a little nap.

The next time I opened my eyes, it seemed much later. Although it wasn’t dark yet, there had been a subtle shift of the light.

By the sounds of things, Simon and Grace were having a wonderful time downstairs and I got a sudden need to hold my darling daughter. As I swung my legs out of bed I noticed the cheese sandwich on the side, lovingly cut into four triangles, beside a cold and congealed cup of coffee.

“Oops,” I muttered, and picked up the plate and cup, carrying them downstairs.

James met me in the hallway.

“Sorry, love. I must’ve crashed,” I said, preparing myself for a telling off.

“Never mind. I thought about waking you when I brought them up, but you were snoring your head off, and I figured it best I let you sleep. “

He kissed the side of my mouth and took the plate and cup from me. “You hungry now?”

“Starved,” I said, lying my head off.

“Great. I’ve just ordered heaps of Chinese food. Go through to the lounge, and I’ll grab you a blanket.”

Simon was lying face down on the carpet, and Grace sat on his back. He was bouncing her, and she laughed hysterically.

“Mamma,” she squealed as I entered, clearly pleased to see me.

“Hello, Missie-moo, that was a nice welcome.”  I climbed onto the sofa, and Grace scrambled across the carpet in her unique rolling crawl.

“You feeling any better?” Simon asked, lifting Grace up and placing her beside me on the sofa.

“Lots better, thanks. I really can’t believe how long I slept for. I never sleep in the day.”

“You obviously need it. Just listen to your body.”

Grace climbed up on my knee and I snuggled her to me. Then she gave me a wet, open-mouthed kiss. “Oh, thank you Gracie. That was lovely.”  But I was talking to the back of her head because she’d had enough of me and climbed down from the sofa hands first.

“You’re getting too clever for your own good, little girl.” I laughed.

“She’s like a little monkey,” Simon said, amazed. “Honestly, she’s been on the go since we picked her up from the nursery.”

“She’s always like this. I wish I had half of her energy,” I said. “Where’s Kev?”

“Sat on the bed, reading.” He pulled his face.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“He pisses me off! He’s always got his head in a book.”

“Are you feeling left out?”

He laughed. “Shut it you, or else I’ll give you a bump to match on the other side of your head.”

“Oooh, my knees are knocking.” I sniggered.

“Stop laughing. It hurts your head, remember?”

“That’s true, it does. Any more news on Candice?” I asked.

“Not that I know of. I hope your friend didn’t think us rude earlier for shooting off as soon as she arrived. She seemed to have something on her mind.”

“Very perceptive of you. Yes, she was stressing over something.”

“Who was?” James breezed in carrying a fluffy blue fleece.

“Thanks. We were talking about Lydia,” I said, taking the blanket and tucking it about myself.

“What was she stressing over? Candice?” James asked.

“Partly.”

“What else then?”

“She said, when they went to the cottage, one of the locals said he saw the dead girl getting into Lee’s car.”

James cocked his head to one side. “I’m telling you, Geri. Something bloody dodgy has gone on there. Lee’s a fool if he thinks he can get away with it—he needs to be honest.”