Conflicted Innocence (9 page)

Chapter 17

The ringing of the phone woke James out of a deep sleep, and then, just in case he hadn’t heard it, Geri dug him in the ribs.

“James. Phone.”

“I’m going.” He dragged himself out of bed and forced his eyes open to look at the clock. 5.45am. Who on earth would be calling at this hour?

Downstairs, he raced to the phone before the caller hung up, which usually happened with the phone being so far away.

“Hello?” he panted.

“James, it’s me,” a familiar voice said.

“Who?”

“Lee.”

“Lee! Where the hell are you? I thought you were upstairs.”

“I came to the cottage. I’d have told you but you were all asleep.”

“We are all
still
asleep, as anyone with an ounce of sense would be at this hour. So why are you ringing?” James snarked, more than a little pissed off.

“When I got here I disturbed an intruder. He attacked me and we fought, but now he’s dead.”

“Dead?”

“Who’s dead?” Geri asked, appearing in the doorway rubbing her eyes.

James shrugged and turned his back.

“The guy’s dead, but that’s not all. I found another dead body in the cellar.”

“Fuck! Call the police—I’ll be right there.”

“The police are on their way.

“Good. Hang tight. I won’t be long.”

He ended the call and turned back to face a wide-eyed Geraldine. “It’s Lee.”

“Lee?” She pointed upstairs.

“Yes. For some reason he went to the cottage, and I don’t know what happened but two people are dead. Intruders or something.”

She gasped. “Oh, my God! Is he okay?”

“I don’t know. I think so.”

“Why on earth did he go to the cottage at this hour?”

“God only knows, but he did. Can you stay here? It’s pointless waking Lydia. I’ll be able to tell you more when I get there. I’ll call you.”

*

The police were crawling all over the place when he arrived. One burly officer squared up to him as he tried to enter and James backed off.

“James.” Lee appeared from the back of the ambulance. His face was cut and bruised and James noticed obvious strangle marks around his mate’s throat.

“What the...?” James shook his head, shocked. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll live.”

“So, what happened?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I came over to do some work. When I arrived, I noticed the broken window and glass all over the kitchen floor. A few moments later, a man arrived saying he was a concerned neighbour and he thought the place was being burgled. I told him about the glass, and together we searched inside.”

They shuffled out of the way as another group of officers headed towards the cottage.

Shaking, Lee steadied himself on the stone wall.

“Go on.” James nodded.

“Well, we found a pile of cardboard in the lounge, clearly a makeshift bed. The guy, Lucas, went to check the upstairs and I headed for the cellar. The next thing I know, Lucas appeared in the cellar doorway and punched me in the face. I grabbed him and we both fell down the stairs. We landed on top of a body. A woman. The guy had obviously killed her before I got there.”

“You’re joking!” James was gobsmacked. “And do they know who he is?”

“Yeah. He was telling the truth about who he was. His name is Lucas and he lived in the flat across the road.”

“And the woman?”

“They don’t know yet. She’s only young by the looks of things, though.”

“This is awful! So what now?”

“They want me to go to the station to give a statement. Will you come with me?”

James thought his mate was about to cry. “Of course, I will, buddy. Come on, we’ll take my car.”

As they arrived at the station, James called Geri.

“James! I’ve been going out of my mind. Thank God Lydia’s still not surfaced yet. How is he?”

“He’s taken quite a beating, and he’s obviously shaken up, but it could have been much worse, by all accounts.”

“So, what’s happening?”

“We’re at the police station. Lee’s got to give a statement, and no doubt he’ll be charged.”

“Charged? What with?”

“Murder of course. The guy died.”

“I know, but he was attacking Lee, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, but it’s not up to the police to be judge and jury. He will have to go to court just like anyone else. The murder charge will no doubt be reduced to manslaughter, and a good solicitor will argue not guilty because it was self-defence.”

“Oh, poor Lydia. She’s just come home, and now she’ll have to face this!”

“I know. It’s not going to be pleasant, that’s for sure. Listen, love, I’ve got to go, I’ll call you later.”

***

Grace had already gone back to bed for her morning nap before Lydia came downstairs still dressed in her pyjamas.

“I’m sorry. I slept like a log for the first time in ages,” she said, shaking her head in amazement.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” I handed her a cup of coffee.

“Oh, you are wonderful.” She wrapped her hands around the cup and inhaled deeply. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the smell of real coffee. It’s one of the things I missed the most.”

I hated ruining her first morning home with the news that her husband was almost murdered while she slept. But my face obviously gave the game away.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking around. “Where’s Lee?”

“We got a call early this morning. Lee couldn’t sleep and decided to go to the cottage during the night.”

“Phew! I thought you were going to tell me something awful.” She laughed.

“I haven’t finished yet.”

She placed the cup down and pushed it away from her. “Oh, no. What’s happened?”

“He apparently disturbed an intruder and took a beating. The intruder ended up dead.”

She shot to her feet. “Lee killed him?”

“By all accounts it was either him or Lee. The guy had already killed a young woman before Lee got there.”

“My God. It gets worse. So there are two dead people in our cottage?”

I nodded. “But let’s face it, it could have been worse.”

“How?” She sneered.

“You both could have gone over last night instead of staying here. You might have been dragged into it too.”

Lydia shuddered. “Imagine that, being involved in a murder on the very day I’m released from prison.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s all my fault. I moaned at Lee right before we went to bed. I told him we had no choice but to go to the cottage right away. I’ll bet that’s the reason he went over there. Now what will we do?”

“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as it takes,” I said.

“Thanks, but that won’t work. You only just moved in yourself and, with all the will in the world, it won’t work with two extra house guests. And I need something to wear.”

“What are you saying?”

“That I need to grow a pair and go home.”

“Really?”

“Really. Do you know where there’s a key?” she asked.

I nodded. “Do you want me to come with you?”

She got to her feet and rinsed her cup under the tap. “What about Grace?”

“I’ll bring the monitor.”

“Then, yes. If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it.”

I tidied the kitchen while Lydia got ready, then I grabbed the baby monitor.

She appeared in the kitchen doorway still dressed in her pyjamas.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Lee?” I asked, following her out the door and down the path.

“No. I can’t face it with Lee. I can’t think of his feelings at the moment—this needs to be all about me.”

“I get you.”

“Aarrrgghhhh!”

The scream made me jump out of my skin. I spun my head around to see our crazy neighbour running towards us.

“Oh, no, you don’t, matey,” I said, getting in between him and Lydia. “She’s paid her debt. Now leave her alone!” James had warned me that most of the neighbours were still angry with Lydia.

“It’s okay, Geri. Thomas is my friend,” Lydia said, holding her arms out to the stinky nutter.

They hugged and I almost barfed in my mouth. I could smell him from where I was standing. He couldn’t have washed in a decade.

“How are you, Tom? You’ve not changed a bit.”

Thomas ripped the cap off his head, his long, matted hair stuck up everywhere, and he attempted a dodgy smile. I realised he was nowhere near as old as I’d thought. And he had the bluest eyes I ever did see.

“Good. You home.” He shook his head, his eyes filling with tears.

“Yes, I’m home, my friend. You were the only one who believed in me, weren’t you?”

“Wrong.” He slammed the cap back on and walked away angrily.

“He is one bloody nutcase. You know that?” I said, shaking my head as I watched the odd man hobble away.

“He’s harmless. Thomas loved little Joey, and I think it sent him a little further over the edge of insanity when he died.”

I got a sudden griping twinge in the pit of my stomach. I’ve never wanted to cry as much as I did at that moment, but with Lydia being so strong, what right did I have to blubber? I managed to hold myself together.

I handed her the keys as we reached the door. I considered opening it and entering first, but it was her house, so I needed to be led by her.

As the door swung inwards, she stopped dead—hardly breathing.

My whole body quivered. This house gave me the creeps before, but now, with the baby’s own mother with me, I wasn’t sure if I could even step through the door.

“Lydia?” I said, eventually.

She glanced at me and nodded, reaching for my hand.

“You can do this. It’s just a house.” I sounded convincing, even to my own ears.

“It’s just a house,” she repeated.

“That’s right. Let’s get it over with before Lee arrives, remember?”

Lydia turned to face the road for a second, then braced herself and walked inside.

I gulped, suddenly feeling sick, and followed.

Lydia stood in the kitchen doorway, glancing around. Then, she picked up an electricity bill that was leaning against the wall by the phone. Shaking her head, she put it back.

I didn’t know what to do, so I opted to do nothing for now.

In the dining room, she stopped, leaning against the back of one of the chairs. “I don’t think I can do this, after all.”

“Really? You’ve come so far already. If you give up now you’ll never find the strength to do it.”

“I know you’re right. Will you come upstairs with me?”

“Of course I will.”

She held out her hand and I took it, gripping it tight. “It’s just a house,” I said again.

She nodded, then began climbing the stairs.

I braced myself for a meltdown, but she showed no real emotion when she reached the bathroom. She walked inside and put down the lid of the toilet before sitting on it.

She looked at me. “It’s just a house.” She stroked her fingertips along the rim of the bath.

I don’t know what was going through her mind, but the thought of the little man taking his last breath in that very bath almost killed me. If I closed my eyes for long enough, I could see him floating, and I never even knew him, so goodness knows what she could see. However, whatever it was, she didn’t let on.

She didn’t speak—neither of us did, and twenty minutes must have passed before Lydia finally got to her feet.

“I thought that once I came back I would somehow remember. But I don’t. I honestly don’t remember a thing after leaving him in his cot while I went for a lie down.” With her words came the tears.

“I know you don’t. Come here.” I pulled her into my arms and she allowed herself to sob.

“I had several dreams in prison. I dreamed I saw him, chuckling and splashing in the bubbles. I remember him biting the rubber fish he loved so much.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I don’t know. Maybe, the vodka?” She stiffened, a strange goran coming from her as she bent double. “He was my life, why would I...?” She sobbed.

I cried too. The tragic reality was too much to bear. This beautiful soul had lost the most precious thing in the world to her, and she only had herself to blame.

“So you think maybe you do remember?”

She shrugged. “I want to remember. At least then I could try to forget. I know that sounds stupid, but until I remember, I’ll never believe it. I bathed him every single night, and so the memory of him in the bubbles is a real one, but I don’t know if it’s from the day he died.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid at all. I would be exactly the same.”