Killing Me Softly (15 page)

Ten-year-old Duncan Tavish walked along the narrow path behind the church grumbling under his breath. Two bags of rubbish banged against his skinny legs – one of the many causes of his grumbling. His mother had roused him out of bed this morning at seven o’clock so she and other ladies from the women’s auxiliary could have the hall cleared before services began this morning. Duncan couldn’t understand how, when his mum volunteered to do these things, he got roped in too. None of the other boys were here. It wasn’t fair!

Dumping the rubbish into the big council dustbin, he looked longingly at the dark tangle of the woods. The trees beckoned, speaking a language only a ten-year-old boy could understand. Especially a boy who’d been forced to stay inside too much because of the early spring storms.

Torn, he kicked at the dustbin, enjoying the loud clang. Surely it wouldn’t matter if he went and had a play. He’d be quick. Besides, he’d seen a good stick just off the path near the fence yesterday when he was here helping his mum set up for the dance and he wanted to get it before any of the other boys did.

Heading through the long grass, he quickly zeroed in on the stick. Picking it up, he whipped at the grass and brush, enjoying the swooshing noise. The stick was straight and worn smooth with a gnarled knob on one end. He could easily imagine he held a magnificent sword. He was a knight, out to fight the evil dragon and save the beautiful princess like in the story he’d read in the library the other day. Although, why anyone would rescue a girl was beyond him, but the fighting the dragon bit had been pretty cool.

The lure of imagination was too great and, forgetting his duties, he ran forward, yelling at the top of his lungs, ‘On guard, dragon! I’m the famous Knight Duncan and I’m here to kill you and save the princess. So watch out!’

He wasn’t certain that’s what a knight would say but it sounded pretty good. With another mad cry he rushed forward, swatting the stick right and left, grunting with exertion as he danced around, imagining he fought the most dangerous dragon known to man. Spinning in a circle and jabbing straight out in front of him, he yelled, ‘Give up yet, dragon?’

Turning again, he darted around the bole of the Snogging Tree and fell flat on his face.

‘Oomph!’ the air exploded out of his chest. Rolling over onto his back, he held his ribs, trying to will the breath back into them. Finally, on a ragged sob, he managed to drag in one breath and then another.

His breathing steadied and he swiped at the tears on his face. As the panic of being winded faded, he began to feel stupid for tripping over right when the fight was getting good. A real knight wouldn’t trip over a stupid tree root! Looking at the boughs over his head he frowned. He knew the tree well and he could have sworn there weren’t any big roots on this side because this was where the older kids lay down and snogged. He knew because he’d followed his big brother here one night just to see what he did with Jenny Harrison. It had been pretty disgusting.

So, if there weren’t any tree roots, what had he tripped over?

Sitting up carefully, still holding his aching ribs, he looked back to see what lay at the base of the tree: a shoe, partly covered in the tangle of dead leaves and twigs. Bright red, high-heeled. What was that doing there? It looked like something Jenny would wear. She turned up in something like that every Friday when she came over to see his brother. Well, if it was hers, she’d want it back. She might even ruffle his hair and smile at him in that way that made his tummy feel funny.

He reached to pick up the red shoe.

It was attached to a leg.

With a shriek, he let go. The leg and shoe dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Certain he was about to get yelled at for waking up a couple, he backed up.

‘I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t . . . ’ His words caught in his mouth.

This was no sleeping couple he had disturbed.

Jenny Harrison lay on the ground on her back, her face turned his way, her blank eyes staring at him, unblinking, her body pale and still and hard. A small trickle of dried blood ran out of the corner of her blue lips.

‘Jenny?’ He reached forward, touched her. In touching her, he finally knew what all his senses were telling him.

Jenny Harrison was dead.

Duncan screamed, scrambling back, landing on his bottom, then rolled over, crawling away for a few metres before he managed to gain his footing, all thoughts of fighting dragons gone. Never again would he think of dragons without remembering the terrible sight of Jenny’s eyes, staring – blank, blind, lifeless – right into his soul.

His scream echoed through the woods as he ran for help and then all was silent.

A wild pheasant cawed, answered by another as the breeze whispered through the leaves of the trees.

Jenny lay there, her dress ripped and torn, her breasts covered in bites and scratches, her legs apart, knickers tangled around one ankle. She would never hear the sounds of the woods she loved again.

Lexi swung into the kitchen, the smell of eggs and bacon enticing despite the apprehension fluttering in her stomach. But she couldn’t eat yet. She’d promised to have breakfast with Daemon.

He wanted to talk. About what happened last night.

The butterflies turned into rioting giants.

Bev turned from the stove. ‘Good morning, love. Did you have a good time last night?’

Lexi tried not to blush as she answered, ‘Yes. You?’

‘I always do. You were wonderful onstage.’

She dipped her head. ‘I was okay. The band really made the set. And Daemon . . . I’ve never seen him perform live before. He’s pretty amazing.’

Smothering a smile, Bev turned away. ‘Yes, he was. I’m not a fan of most popular music but I enjoyed what you played last night. And the kids really appreciated it. They don’t get much in the way of excitement around here. It was nice of the boys and you to do that for them.’ She placed two thick slices of ham beside the eggs in the pan.

‘I can’t speak for them, but I’m pretty sure they had as much fun as I did.’

‘Well, you should do it again some time.’

Lexi helped herself to some orange juice. ‘I’m sure they will.’

‘Not you?’

‘Phil will join them next time. So they don’t need me.’

‘Something tells me you’re wrong about that.’ Bev caught the toast as it popped out of the toaster, buttered it, then added two eggs, a thick slice of ham and some fried potatoes and placed the plate in front of Lexi before she could protest. ‘Eat up, love. You never have a good enough breakfast. It amazes me you don’t drop from exhaustion with everything you pack into each day and the tiny amount of food you eat.’

Lexi smiled, and opened her mouth to say she was having breakfast at the studio when the phone rang.

‘Eat. I’ll get that,’ Bev said, sailing out of the kitchen and up the hall.

Lexi looked down at the plate. She should get going, although maybe one egg and a few bites of ham would help to settle her stomach. Knowing she was eating only to put off meeting Daemon, she sat and dug in anyway.

She heard Bev’s cheerful greeting as she picked up the phone. The gasp didn’t catch her attention so much as the silence that followed. Turning around, she looked up the hall and saw Bev standing there, hand to her mouth, staring dumbly at the phone. Scrambling up from the table, knocking her chair to the ground with a clatter, Lexi ran up the hall, heart pounding.

Had her letter writer amped up his campaign to making phone calls? But as she reached Bev, she saw the tears in the older woman’s eyes, the paleness of her skin, and knew something else entirely had happened.

Taking the phone out of Bev’s hand, trying to still the shaking in her own, she said a tentative, ‘Hello?’

‘Is this Miss Denholm?’

‘Yes.’

‘This is Constable Creeson from Fellhaven Police Station. As I’ve just told Mrs Smart, there was a murder last night during the dance.’

‘A murder?’ Lexi repeated, not fully comprehending. ‘Surely you’re joking?’

‘I wish I were. Young Duncan Tavish found the body first thing this morning. She’d been raped and left in the woods behind the church hall. We assume it occurred some time last night while the dance was on.’

‘Oh, my God. That’s awful.’

‘A couple of detective inspectors will be coming up from Penrith to take over the investigation.’ She could hear the stress in the young man’s voice, knew he’d only been a police officer for a year and this would be the first time he’d dealt with something so violent. ‘They’ve asked us to call everyone who was at the dance last night to request that they stay where they can be contacted for questioning.’

‘For questioning.’ Lexi knew she sounded stupid repeating what he said, but she couldn’t quite wrap her head around what she was hearing. And it didn’t help that Bev was openly trembling now, tears cascading down her face. ‘Do you think someone at the dance did it? That one of us did it?’

‘At this time we don’t know what happened or who committed the crime. But talking to everyone who was at the dance could help point us in the right direction.’

‘Oh. Fine. I’m sure everyone here would be happy to cooperate. What do you want me to do?’

‘Thank you, Miss Denholm.’ She could hear the sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. ‘Could you ask everyone there to stay put today? Either myself or Sergeant Moore will be out at some time today with the DIs from Penrith. I can’t give you an exact time – we’ve got a lot of people to question. I hope that doesn’t inconvenience you?’

‘No. No, not at all. Whenever suits you.’

‘Thank you Miss Denholm. We’ll try to make it as painless as possible.’

‘May I ask . . . if it’s not inappropriate . . . who was the girl?’

Constable Creeson swallowed hard. ‘Jenny. Jenny Harrison.’

‘Oh, God,’ Alexia murmured. Jenny helped Bev out every Saturday – had only been here yesterday. She was a lovely young girl who had been trying to do something with her life, despite the hardships sent her way. And now, all her dreams, her hopes, they were over. ‘I’m sorry. So very sorry.’

Bev sobbed behind her. The constable mumbled something, but she didn’t take it in. She hung up the phone, turned to Bev and helped her down the hall back to the kitchen. Silent sobs racked her frame, making Lexi feel like crying herself. Ushering Bev to a chair, she quickly called down to the stables for Karl, telling him what had happened. Within minutes he was in the kitchen comforting his wife. She found Billy in the gym getting ready for a session with Cat. He immediately stopped when he saw her face. His expression grave, he listened as she repeated what the constable had told her. She noticed as she told him that Cat was frowning, as if disturbed by the news, and moved closer to Billy. But when Lexi tried to get Cat’s attention, her sister just turned away.

Trying to ignore the added pain, she left them and ran down to the Dower House.

Everyone except Daemon was still in bed, but once they were roused and were told what had happened only Nigel objected to staying put until the police arrived. Lyall had discovered a problem with a contract that needed to be hammered out ASAP and couldn’t be done over the phone or by email. They needed to get back to London for a meeting to sort it out. Nigel was quite upset; he couldn’t afford to be delayed.

A number of phone calls were made and arrangements were made for him and Lyall to drive to Penrith and speak to the DIs on their way back to London. The band’s helicopter would meet him there to take them the rest of the way.

Lexi left them to their calls and rushed back up to the house to be with Bev.

When she walked into the kitchen, Karl held Bev in his arms. Lexi hovered at the doorway, not knowing whether to intrude on their private grief. But Bev looked up and put out her hand, her eyes full of tears, and Lexi rushed over.

Karl stood, taking position behind his wife, letting Lexi take his seat and hold Bev’s hand in hers. As Bev sobbed, Lexi tried to will comfort through touch, through the connection of Bev’s hand in hers.

Karl stroked Bev’s hair, squeezed her shoulder. ‘Come on now, sweetheart. Stop crying. It’s not going to help anything.’

Lexi poured a fresh cup of tea and placed it in Bev’s trembling hands. ‘Here Bev, drink this.’

Bev looked up, her eyes red, blotches on her cheeks. ‘Thanks, love.’ She blew her nose, took a careful sip and then a big breath in an effort to steady herself. Turning to Karl, she put on a brave face. ‘I’ll be all right, darling. You go out and do your work. Lexi is here to keep me company.’

‘Are you sure? I can stay if you want.’

Bev gave him a watery smile. ‘The stock need tending. You go. I’ll be fine, I promise.’

‘Right you are then.’ He bent over and gave her a kiss. He shot Lexi a grateful look before heading out the door. As it closed behind him, Bev began to sob again.

Lexi sat down next to her and put her arm around her shoulders. ‘Is there something I can do for you?’

Bev looked at her, her tear-stained face sad and vulnerable. ‘No. I’m being silly. I know crying like this won’t bring Jenny back. I should just pull myself together and go over and see if I can do anything for her poor father and brother.’ Her lips trembled. ‘Stan must be beside himself. First losing his lovely Doris two years ago to a stroke and now this! And what about poor little Kevin?’ She shook her head. ‘I just don’t understand. Things like this don’t happen in our sleepy little village.’ She looked up; her eyes pleaded for answers Lexi couldn’t give. ‘Who would do such a thing?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘She would never hurt a fly.’ Bev took in a shuddering breath. ‘When she was a little girl her greatest wish was to go to university, become a vet. After her poor mother’s death, she stayed here rather than go to university. She held her family together. People said she was a little wild, but she wasn’t, not really.’ She sniffed and wiped her nose. ‘I don’t understand. She didn’t deserve this. She just didn’t.’ A tear dripped down her face and she swiped at it with her wet hanky.

‘No-one ever deserves bad things to happen to them.’ As Lexi said the words, she shuddered.

Bev patted her hand. ‘This must be bringing back terrible memories and here you are, comforting me. You’re very brave.’

Lexi’s smile was full of self-derision. ‘I’m not brave, I’m just lucky. What I meant though was that terrible things happen; there is no reasoning them out of this world. They are a part of it whether we want them to be or not. We just have to get on with things even as we continue to grieve for the loss of what we once had.’

As she spoke, Lexi realised the truth of what she was saying and knew she needed to follow her own advice. She’d let Lyndon James affect her life in ways she hadn’t imagined. She needed to stop being afraid of what might be just because of what had been. Now was the time to live her life, not hide in the shadows of it.

Bev’s smile warmed as she took in Lexi’s words. ‘You’re not just brave, you’re wise. That’s a very important lesson to learn.’

Lexi shrugged off the compliment. ‘I think I just realised what it really means.’ She wished realising it would be enough. But it seemed such a huge thing to open herself up to letting other people in – especially a man. The feelings she already had for Daemon were frightening in their intensity. One part of her wanted to leap up and go and find him and tell him she would become his lover. But the other part – the stronger part – was so very frightened by the thought.

What if he hurt her? What if she fell in love with him? She knew he’d leave eventually – he would have to because of who he was. His home base had been in the States for the past eight years. Sure, he had a house in London, and a few others scattered across the world, but they weren’t homes. Besides, he wasn’t the kind of man who could be tied down. Who was she to ask him to change that and come and live here? She couldn’t bear to lose someone she cared about again. It just didn’t seem worth taking the chance.

She sighed. It was pointless thinking about it now. Bev needed her. Any decision she might make would keep. Daemon wasn’t going anywhere, for now.

Bev looked at her. ‘If you’ve got something to do dear, I’ll be okay. I might just go and give the women’s auxiliary a call. Stan’s going to need so much help. Jenny took care of everything for him. And I need to go over and see him. It’ll be good to keep busy.’

‘Constable Creeson asked that we stay here.’

Bev’s smile wavered. ‘That poor lad. He used to play with Jenny when they were young. He’ll be taking this hard.’ She sniffed, dabbed at her nose with her hanky. ‘I’ll give him a call. He won’t mind if I go over to Stan’s. As long as he knows where I am.’

Lexi nodded. ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.’

‘I’ll drive you,’ Daemon said, walking into the kitchen.

Lexi jumped. How long had he been standing there? How much of their conversation had he heard?

‘You don’t have to do that, Daemon love.’

‘I know,’ he said, stepping into the room. ‘But I’d like to.’

‘I don’t want to be taking you away from your work.’

He smiled and patted her shoulder. ‘You’re not. We have today off anyway. I had something to do this morning but it was cancelled.’ He shot Lexi a look of understanding. Lexi sighed in relief and his smile widened at her expression. ‘So I’m all yours for today.’

Bev rallied, wiping the tears from her cheeks. ‘Let me finish my tea, and help me eat some of these scones. Alexia dear, could you pour Daemon a cup?’

‘Sure.’ She looked at him. ‘White and one?’

He smiled. ‘That’s right.’

She blushed at his look and turning away, busied herself re-boiling the water and getting a cup out and the pot ready.

‘When we’ve finished here, I’ve got a few calls to make. And I’ll call Constable Creeson and let him know where we’re going to be. Then you could drive us over to the Harrisons’. If you’re sure.’

‘There’s nothing more I’d like to do than to spend today with two lovely ladies.’

Bev’s smile warmed as she dabbed at her eyes. ‘He’s a flatterer, this one.’

Lexi nodded. ‘I know. I’ve seen him in action.’ Realising how that sounded she blushed. ‘I mean I saw him with his fans last night. He charmed the pants off them without even trying.’

‘There was only one person there last night I was interested in charming,’ Daemon said, giving Bev a wink.

Bev chuckled and took a sip of her tea. ‘Who would that be?’

He flashed her a smile. ‘You of course!’

Bev laughed. ‘You know how to make an old girl feel better.’

Lexi put his cup down in front of him. ‘Here you are.’ He touched her hand before she could draw away. Her gaze flew up to his then away. She wondered if his whole body came alive at the touch just as hers did. ‘I think I’ll just run upstairs and finish getting ready.’ She turned to Bev. ‘Let me know when you’re ready to go.’

Alexia dashed off before Daemon could stop her. He turned back to Bev who was looking at him carefully.

‘She’s a lovely caring girl, that one.’ She sipped her tea, her eyes meeting his. ‘You’d better be careful. Don’t pursue her unless you mean it to be more than casual. She’s still so fragile. Too fragile to deal with an affair.’