Dead Time (16 page)

Rose stood in front of St Michael's Cemetery holding a bunch of deep pink carnations. The gates were locked. A sign on them said
Closing Time 18.00.

‘Last week it was 6.30,' Rose said. ‘I'm sure it was. I read it. And I didn't get here until gone six!'

‘It's the autumn,' Joshua said. ‘A lot of places graduate their closing times. It's getting darker earlier. Parks do it. Hey, we can come back over the weekend.'

But Rose didn't want to do that. She had the flowers. She wanted to lay them on the exact spot where she'd found Emma. Tomorrow she might feel differently.

‘I want to do it now.'

‘Short of climbing over the gate …' Joshua said, his hands out in a gesture of hopelessness.

‘There are other ways in. My policeman friend told me. Round the back. Off the lane that runs between the railway and the cemetery. Come on.'

‘You can't …'

Rose walked off. She headed back towards the station. She quickened her pace until she saw the sign for
Cuttings Lane
. Above it was another sign, smaller, less obvious:
Public Footpath to Chalk Farm Estate.

Joshua caught up with her.

‘There's a way into the cemetery along this lane …'

‘You can't just break in!'

She didn't listen. She walked on. The lane was narrow at first but widened out in parts and the lighting was on so it was bright. On one side was high hedging and sections of brick wall which skirted the cemetery. On the other was a tall wire fence which ran along the side of the railway. From behind she heard a rushing sound and looked round to see two boys on bikes heading towards them. They both stood back and let the bikes pass.

A few metres later the hedge looked brown and sparse. Going close up to it she could see something through the foliage. Something white behind the privet.

‘Look,' she said.

There was a small gap. It was narrow where the hedge had thinned out. Looking hard she could see something beyond. A white marble headstone. Rose took her rucksack off, placed the flowers inside her jacket and stepped into the gap in the hedge.

‘What you doing?' Joshua said.

‘I'm going in to lay my flowers.'

It was a tight fit but she was able to push herself through without damaging the blooms and then she pulled her bag behind her. On the other side she found herself standing in a grassy area of graves. The cemetery stretched away from her, rows and rows of headstones. Up the middle was a winding lane where the hearses drove. Over to the left was the walled garden.

‘Rosie!' Joshua's loud whisper came through the hedge.

‘Come in. We can walk around the edge and get to the rose garden without passing the CCTV camera.'

There was no answer. Just a grumbling sound.

She looked around at the nearby graves. Most of them were old but one was recent. There was no headstone, just a small simple cross with the name
Gerald Rossiter 1970–2012.
The earth in front of it was newly turned and there were wreaths and bunches of flowers in various stages of decay. He must have been buried there in the last few weeks.

‘Josh,' she called.

There was a rustling noise and moments later Joshua appeared through the hedge, brushing his clothes and looking disgruntled.

‘Come on,' she said. ‘We'll be ten minutes, no more. I promise.'

The cemetery was darker than Cuttings Lane. There were round lights on the main pathway and they glowed like tiny moons. The rest of the graveyard was grey or
dark blue with only the white of the headstones or statues standing out.

Rose sidestepped the grave in front of her and then headed for the path that went round the periphery of the cemetery. She looked round to see that Joshua was still standing in the same place.

‘Are you coming?'

‘I'm not that comfortable here … Being in the middle of a load of dead people isn't my idea of a good time.'

‘Are you religious?' she said.

Did Joshua believe in
God
?

‘No. I just think there are unexplained things and I'm not that comfortable walking past places where people's spirits are.'

‘You mean ghosts?' she said, incredulous.

‘No, not ghosts either. But I think there may be some force that we don't understand …'

‘Come on. Enough talk,' said Rose impatiently.

Joshua nodded but his expression was one of distaste.

She got to the path and glanced back to see him walking gingerly along. She waited for him and together they made their way around the edge towards the rose garden. They walked quietly, Rose holding the flowers in front of her like some forlorn bride, Joshua a step behind, his shoulders rounded. The footpath took them away from the main entrance to the rose garden and towards the corner arch where Rose had found Emma. They passed
older parts of the graveyard where the headstones were at angles and their inscriptions had long since been eroded. It seemed like a forgotten corner. Just ahead they were coming to the side arch of the rose garden. It didn't look as though it had been used much either. A large bush was blocking the way in.

She pulled back the branches and stepped into the rose garden. It seemed to be in complete darkness. She could make out the shapes of the bushes and the pathway and the other walls but that was all. A couple of metres in front of her was the place where she had found Emma. She gasped when she saw the flowers. They were laid across the path and stretched halfway along the side of the walled garden. It was like a carpet that had been put down. The colours were leached by the darkness so that it looked as though the floral tribute was in black and white. Her own flowers looked a deep purple. She lay them down on the edge.

The garden was quiet as though the walls soundproofed it. Last week she thought she had heard sounds; someone breathing, moving stealthily about. She'd been in shock and hadn't been able to look round properly. Had it been Bee Bee? Hiding somewhere, waiting for the chance to dash out of the arch and escape through the cemetery and across the bridge?

Joshua appeared, looking distinctly uneasy.

‘This is where she was killed,' Rose said, her voice sounding strangely loud.

‘Can we go now?' he said.

‘We've only just got here.'

‘Rosie, you've done what you wanted. Let's go.'

Rose didn't like the tone of his voice.

‘You don't think this is important?'

He didn't answer.

‘You're so full up with this stuff about the website and the Russian waitress that you've got no feelings left for this!'

‘I just think that's more important to
us
. I thought you would see that.'

‘I was
involved
.'

‘As a witness.'

‘No, more than that. I stumbled into something and now it's not just about Emma or Ricky Harris, it's about me too. I'm part of it.'

‘Just an unlucky coincidence.'

‘You mean like Valeriya Marashenko?'

He frowned.

‘What if she had made more of an effort five years ago?'

‘How do you mean?'

‘If she had contacted the police. If she had told them the things she told you. What if she had got more involved? Then we might know something about what happened to Mum and Brendan. But she didn't want to. She had her own life to think about so she kept Mum's glasses and she spent the money and she pushed it to the back of her mind.'

‘All right …'

‘I was here,' Rose said. ‘I saw her dead there on the ground.'

She took Joshua's arm and pulled him to the exact spot.

‘I am involved. I knew her. Her death touched me.'

‘OK.'

‘If only Valeriya …'

‘Stop! You're right and I'm wrong,' Joshua said, looking sheepish.

She was about to answer him but stopped abruptly because a haze of light was coming from the archway.

‘What's that?'

The light was dim, faint.

‘It's torchlight,' Joshua said.

It was weak and distant but it meant that someone was coming.

‘Quick.'

She grabbed hold of Joshua's arm and took a left turn and went down the other path away from the flowers. Glancing back she saw the light getting stronger. She peered into the darkness for somewhere to hide. The brick wall was not straight, she realised, and there was a recess behind a bench. She pulled Joshua towards it and they both stood huddled against the wall as a strong beam of light punctured the darkness. Rose peeked out.

Sherry Baxter was standing holding the torch, staring at the flowers that lay on the path. The circle of light from the torch lit up the far wall. She was very still, statue-like.

‘Who is it?' Joshua whispered.

‘Emma's stepsister,' she said into Joshua's ear.

There was a sound. Rose held her breath trying to hear what it was. She looked out and saw that Sherry was crying with low, tiny hiccupping sobs that gradually got louder.

Rose was tense, sandwiched up against Joshua. She looked up at him, his face only inches away. She put her finger on her lips. She absolutely did not want to see Sherry. Not after the memorial service that morning. Especially not when she was so upset and grieving for her sister. Not here, when she clearly wanted privacy, wanted to be away from prying eyes.

After a few moments the sound stopped and Sherry bent over to a bag that she'd brought. She pulled something out. Rose couldn't see what it was but Sherry disappeared for a moment behind the rose bushes, further along towards the bulk of the flowers.

‘We should go now!' Joshua said. ‘Slip out the exit while she's there.

‘She'll see us. I just don't want to face her. Let's wait.'

The torch went off. The rose garden was dark again. Rose looked out. Was Sherry leaving? There was no movement and she was surprised to see tiny flickering lights through the rose bushes. Her eyes darted here and there and saw a number of them, ten, maybe; tiny lights sparking against the darkness.

Sherry had lit candles.

Rose closed her eyes. Was Sherry religious? Was she praying?

She heard Sherry walk back along the path towards the corner arch. Was she leaving? There was the sound of a plastic bag being crumpled and then she went under the brick arch.

Rose relaxed, the tension draining out of her.

A beep sounded, loud and insistent.

It was from Joshua's phone.

‘Who's that? Who's there? Is someone there?' Sherry's voice called out.

The phone beeped again.

Rose groaned silently. She heard Sherry's footsteps coming back through the arch.

‘Who is there!' she demanded.

In a moment Sherry would walk down the path and find her there. After this morning's performance she would be outraged to find Rose and doubly annoyed to know that Rose had been hiding, watching her grieving for her stepsister, lighting candles.

‘We'll have to pretend we're boyfriend and girlfriend,' she whispered in Joshua's ear.

‘What?'

She reached up and put her arms around his neck.

‘Quick, hold me.'

‘What?'

Sherry was walking slowly down the pathway.

‘Please!' she said, pulling her hood up so that it covered her head.

Joshua's arms went round Rose in a half-hearted way.

‘Tighter!'

He squeezed her ribs and she could feel his mouth on her hair.

‘Who's there?' Sherry said, her voice less strident, more uncertain.

The torch went on. Rose sensed the circle of light lying on the path ahead of Sherry. She felt panicky. If Sherry saw her she might mention it to the police and how would that look to Inspector Schillings, who had interviewed her in such a suspicious and harsh way?

The footsteps got closer and the circle of light seemed to rise up and sweep across the wall. It was only a matter of seconds before Sherry would be alongside them.

She pushed her face into Joshua's chest just as the light beam found them. Rose glimpsed it on the wall behind. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling the warmth of Joshua. She wouldn't look around. She would feign embarrassment and keep her face away. It was Joshua who Sherry would see, not her. Tensing, she could feel the throb of Joshua's heartbeat.

‘What you doing?'

Rose heard Sherry's voice from behind.

She felt Joshua's head turn away. He was looking at Sherry.

‘We're just looking for a bit of privacy, mate, that's all,' Joshua said.

‘My sister's flowers are here. You shouldn't be doing this!' Sherry said.

‘Sorry. Didn't realise that. We're just spending a bit of time on our own. We're not disrespecting anyone.'

‘You won't touch them? You won't mess them up?'

‘No. We're stopping for a while. We'll keep an eye on them.'

‘Yeah, well …'

Sherry turned. Rose could feel her moving away.

‘Make sure you don't touch anything,' Sherry called.

Rose peeked round. She was walking away, towards the arch. In seconds she was gone. They both dropped their arms. Rose stepped back away from Joshua. She felt instantly cold, a little disorientated. She patted herself down and caught Joshua's eye. She looked away, a feeling of embarrassment flooding through her. They stood like that until the light from the torch disappeared.

‘What was
that
all about?' Joshua demanded, after a minute.

‘I'm sorry. I didn't want to face that girl. It was just a bit of play-acting.'

‘Come on,' Joshua said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. ‘Let's go. This place is giving me the creeps.'

Rose sat in the back of the Mini as Skeggsie drove towards Twickenham. The space was tiny, particularly as Joshua had moved his seat back as far as it would go so that his legs would fit in the front. Rose was behind Skeggsie and she'd unlaced her boots and put her feet up on the seat. Her socks were vivid yellow. There was music playing, a band she liked. Every now and again the satnav gave an instruction. Neither Skeggsie nor Joshua said much so she rested her head against the seat and drifted off into her own thoughts.