The Collared Collection (4 page)

He shook his head. ‘I’m really sorry, I can’t share that sort of information with you.’

Mentally, she was back in the bathroom with Dee. If she’d killed herself, why would she inflict that sort of injury? Why not take sleeping tablets and eliminate the gore factor?

‘Callie, are you feeling alright? You’ve gone very pale.’

‘I’m fine,’ she lied, ‘it’s a ghastly memory, that’s all and I can’t get the image of her death out of my mind … Which only goes to reinforce my belief that she wouldn’t want her kids to experience that.’

‘I take your point.’

Though she waited, he didn’t elucidate. ‘Judging by the water temperature, she’d been dead a long time when I found her; it was really cold, not even tepid.’

‘You said.’

She accepted defeat – he wasn’t going to spill anything at all about the investigation. ‘More iced water?’

‘I’m good, thanks. Where are the boys?’

‘Gone swimming with their dad and Freckle Face. He’s managed to spare them a few hours.’ She remembered, ‘You said you were on your way here when I called – why was that?’

‘Nothing in particular, I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.’

‘Sweet.’

‘That’s me – and to prove it, I’ll take you to lunch. Call it a sort of peace offering?’

She knew she should have played hard to get, or even refused – but that would have been biting off her nose to spite her loins. She peered at him, trying not to seem too keen – or indeed, desperate.

‘I don’t know … well, alright. Let me get changed out of my gardening gear.’

In the bathroom mirror, she was mortified to see her nose was burned red. Please God, she thought, don’t let it start peeling. Not until after lunch, at least.

While she locked up a light bulb dinged in her head.

Back in the garden she said, ‘I may have forgotten to mention that the back door was open. As I said, I went round to the back of the house and I was going to leave the chocolates somewhere in the shade – it was only because the door was open that I went into the house.’

‘Well why didn’t you say so before?’ he snapped. ‘That’s important, very important indeed.’

Chapter Six

They drove very fast in palpable silence to a riverside pub, where they managed by sheer fluke to get a table – with coveted stripy umbrella – right down by the water’s edge. It would have been idyllic, had she not been sitting there alone … although she did have a large glass of perfectly chilled Chablis to talk to.

David had morphed into hotshot policeman mode the instant she’d told him about Dee’s back door being ajar – so she only had herself to blame. She watched him pace up and down the towpath, well away from anyone (including her) who might fancy eavesdropping, talking in a highly animated fashion into his mobile.

Finally, he started back in her direction, pressing the end call button as he walked. ‘Sorry,’ he said, with that lop-sided apologetic look she was beginning to detest, ‘I had to speak to my sergeant about something. Drink OK?’

‘Great, thanks – cool, refreshing, and alcoholic, what more could I ask for? Now, are you going to confide in me? After all, I told you about the door.’

That look again. ‘I know, Callie and thanks for that, but I can’t divulge any details. Sorry I was a bit sharp with you earlier, but I think it’s probably a highly significant factor in the case and I couldn’t believe it had just slipped your mind.’

‘Well, you didn’t ask me. Besides, it was what happened afterwards that’s ingrained on my memory for ever.’

He sat down at the table, took hold of his pint of bitter, and drank deeply. With a thin moustache of froth glistening on his top lip he said, ‘I know, and it’s me who’s at fault because – as you say – I didn’t ask you if the door was open. I’m sorry …’

‘Will you please stop apologising?’ she spat, wondering if her nose glowed brighter when she became angry.

‘I’ll try. We haven’t got off to a great start, have we?’ Smirk alert.

‘Nonsense, all the men I’ve ever known have allowed themselves to be seduced by my ex-best friend – who just happens to be a sexual predator, but that’s absolutely no excuse – right in front of my eyes, less than three minutes after I introduced them.’

‘Ouch – you’re not very generous with your forgiveness and mercy, are you?’

‘Nonsense, again – I’m second only to Mother Teresa when it comes to doling out absolution.’

‘She’s dead.’

‘Well then, pass me my crown and sceptre.’

He took hold of her hand, sending involuntary shivers of delight around her needy body. ‘Arise, St Callie – now, what do you fancy to eat?’

‘I don’t know yet, but your dessert is going to be a huge dollop of humble pie.’

Lunch was good – she could have stayed there all day and all night, if she didn’t have to get back for Sam and Alex. After the initial awkwardness dissipated, they got on rather well and in her mind she gradually reinstated him onto her shortlist of potential mates for life. He slotted in nicely between Prince Harry and Hugh Grant, who she felt was getting a bit seedy and no longer deserved to be runner-up.

She even forgave him for having to rush straight back to the office when he dropped her off.

The kids were snoring in their beds and she was slouched in front of the television, dozing through an old movie she’d seen so many times she practically knew the script. She hadn’t even enjoyed it that much the first time, when she’d seen it at the cinema with Dominic, pre-parenthood. It was coming up to eleven o’clock and her body told her she could do with an early-ish night – it was pretty exhausting, sitting in the sun doing nothing but drinking and eating …

Callie made a half-hearted attempt to clear up the rubbish she’d accumulated around her on the sofa and thought she’d wander into the kitchen, have a glass of water, and do the usual checks before she went up.

When she switched on the kitchen light, she saw Balaclava Man staring at her through the back window.

Thinking back, she wasn’t sure which of them was most shocked – but for her part, she dropped the mug she was carrying so that it exploded into a zillion pieces on the quarry tiles, and then screamed blue murder loud and long. For a split second, he stayed there like a rabbit caught in headlights during the final seconds of its life (possibly transfixed by the beacon of her luminous nose) before he backed away and appeared to run off in the direction of the Symonds’ empty house. Fortunately, she was clutching her phone and speed-dialled David’s number, only to hear that pesky ‘You have reached the message service of …’ woman droning on. Shit! She wanted to scream again, just in case BM was planning a comeback, but told herself not to waste any more time and ring 999.

She’d managed two nines when an unidentified missile came smashing through the window, scoring a direct hit on her temple.

She heard herself croak, ‘Where am I?’ as she hovered in the twilight zone of almost-consciousness.

A female voice she didn’t recognise said, ‘She’s coming round.’

‘Thank goodness.’ She thought that one might belong to David and tried to prise open an eyelid to check. Damn, someone had glued them together and, double damn, her head hurt like hell – far worse than any hangover she’d ever experienced. By then, she could remember being in the kitchen … and something hurtling through the window before hitting her, which eloquently explained the sore head. Without being invited, a hundred feasible scenarios – not one of them with a happy ending – charged through her imagination without applying brakes. Right at the top of the list was that something awful had happened to Sam and Alex. That did it. Her eyes flew open at the same second she sat bolt upright – and the look of iron determination on a nurse’s face did nothing to dissuade her from trying to leap off the gurney and head home immediately.

‘Mrs Ashton, please,’ the nurse whined. With muscular arms she tried to pin her back down on the skinny mattress – but Callie would not be pinned.

‘Balaclava Man has my children,’ she yelled, right in the nurse’s face – so close she could count the hairs sprouting from her nostrils.

The nurse’s lips pursed deeply. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mrs Ashton. Now please lie back and rest – you’ve had a very nasty bang on the head.’

‘No!’ she insisted, still yelling, ‘I must get home!’ Her arms and legs flailed ineffectually as she tried to rid herself of the thin, white cover that protected her modesty. Suddenly, the sludge green cubicle curtains swished apart and there stood David, with a startled Sam and sleepy Alex either side of him. She burst into tears at that point.

He grinned. ‘Calm down, Callie – the boys here are fine, except they are really worried about you.’

Chapter Seven

In the wee small hours of Sunday morning, Sam and Alex were back in bed asleep and Callie was tucked up in hers – solo, but David was downstairs, cleaning up after both Balaclava Man and SOCO. He’d made the kitchen window secure, a temporary fix until she could get a glazier in to do a proper job.

He came back into the room, carrying a drink. ‘There you go; I’ve made you a hot chocolate – my mum always swears by it as an antidote to any crisis. Drink up, it’ll relax you.’

‘Thanks.’ She took the steaming mug carefully. Funnily enough, she realised she’d never thought of him as having a mum – or a dad. ‘It’s very hot – I’ll give it a few minutes to cool.’

He positioned a well-sculpted buttock on the edge of her bed. ‘How are you feeling now? Head still thumping?’

‘Like mad, but apart from that I’m OK. And the painkillers are helping.’

‘You really should have stayed in hospital overnight, so they could monitor for any signs of concussion.’

‘No need, honestly. But I do appreciate your concern – both of you.’

He smiled. ‘Funny. No, I mean it – just as a precaution. You were unconscious for some time and that nurse was only doing her job, trying to make you stay.’

‘Hmm … I think tonight has been traumatic enough for Sam and Alex; I wanted to get everything back to normal for them as soon as possible.’

He smiled again. ‘A policeman sleeping downstairs on the sofa is an everyday occurrence here, is it?’

She wished the policeman was in her bed. ‘You haven’t explained how I got taken to hospital – did one of the boys call an ambulance?’

‘No, that was Mrs Patel a couple of doors down. She told an officer at the scene she heard your screams first of all, but thought it was someone’s TV on too loud – then came the breaking glass and she ventured out with a torch to investigate. She eventually came across your broken window, then you. Sam and Alex were still sleeping when I arrived.’

‘That was very brave of Mrs Patel – she’s a frail, tiny lady and she must be at least a hundred and two.’

‘Seventy-eight. She told me so several times.’

‘I don’t suppose she saw any sign of Balaclava Man?’

‘No, he was probably long gone – all that noise, he’d know that someone would come looking.’

‘I’ll have to take Mrs Patel a box of chocolates to say thanks … ah, on other thoughts, I may make that a bunch of flowers.’

‘Would you like me to give Ginny a ring tomorrow? When she hears you’ve been hurt, she’ll be round here like a shot, no question.’

‘I wouldn’t bank on that. Best leave it.’

‘Well, you threw me out too and I still talk to you. Anyway, we’ll discuss that in the morning – try and take a couple of sips of the chocolate and then I’ll tuck you in. You look exhausted.’

For once, she did as she was told and slept soundly for several hours.

‘Hey, hey, boys – keep the noise down will you? Remember your mum’s poor aching head.’ David had dug out his voice of authority.

Alex looked shamefaced and Sam beamed, showing off gaps where various teeth were missing, as they mumbled in unison, ‘Sorry, Mum.’ With exaggerated care, they replaced the pillows they’d commandeered to pummel each other senseless, and stood by her bed looking uncharacteristically angelic.

‘OK, give Mum a gentle hug, then you can hop it downstairs for brunch – I’ve made you a pile of French toast and it won’t taste so good if it’s cold. Maple syrup is on the table, in a jug – not too much of that.’ They didn’t waste any eating time in her arms after David mentioned the food.

‘It’s very sweet of you to take charge like this, David – I hope you’re not spoiling them?’

He looked comically aghast. ‘Of course not, perish the thought. I’ll take them to the park later on – we can kick a football around, run off some of that stodge they’re about to consume.’ When she looked concerned at the thought of him leaving, he was quick to reassure her, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve arranged for a PC to come and baby-sit while I’m not here, just in case. That’ll be a permanent arrangement by the way, until we find Balaclava Man.’

‘I see … Did your crime scene people turn up anything interesting?’

‘Not really. They found traces of latex, so he wore gloves – no handy fingerprints on the glass. There were a couple of possible footprints, but don’t hold your breath; they might even be mine.’

‘I thought that bad guys always leave something at the scene and take something away?’

He chuckled. ‘You must get a life, Callie, and you watch far too much television.’

She smiled – which hurt – and changed tack. ‘Do you think I should ask Dominic to have the boys stay with him?’

He shook his head. ‘I wouldn’t make that decision just yet; I can’t see that they are in any danger – our man seems to be after you for some reason. Perhaps he’s twigged you saw him in the Symonds’ house; I don’t know why that would be a problem when he was wearing the mask, but it’s silly to speculate at this stage. Anyway, I thought you try to avoid Sam and Alex spending too much time with Freckle Face?’

‘Her name is Polly Fosdyke. And I do, yes – but not at the expense of the boys’ safety.’

‘Callie, you have the long arm of the law to protect you 24/7 for as long as it takes. You’ll all be quite safe, trust me.’

‘Because you’re not a doctor?’

‘Exactly. Now try and take another nap while I nip downstairs to referee. We’ll come and say adios before we go out to play.’

He kissed her carefully on the forehead and her eyes closed almost as soon as her head sank into the pillows he’d fluffed up.