Unfinished Business (13 page)

“Thank you, we’ll speak to Katie. Is there any other family Sarah’s close to?”

“No. She has cousins in America on her mum’s side but she’s not seen them since she was tiny, they never visit.”

“Have you ever met Mark’s family?”

Elspeth’s lips pursed. “Twice. Dreadful people, especially the mother, Maggie. We didn’t get along.”

Brodie could just imagine those two formidable women grating against each other.

“Lauren’s a sweet girl I suppose,” she continued. “But odd. She lets her hideous mother boss her about and she’s terrified of her other brother, who’s clearly demented.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He just has a bad aura. Sometimes the look in his eye…” She trailed off thoughtfully.

“So you’ve never seen him do anything bad?”

“I don’t need to see him do it to know he’s capable.”

“Mark doesn’t have that aura?”

“No but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of bad things. Everyone has their dark side, even lanky, wet strings of piss like that.”

An eerie hissing sound had them all turning in their seats to see Buster and the malevolent black cat squaring up to each other, hackles rising, tails straight up in the air. Brodie thought the black cat looked almost satanic with its blazing green eyes. Buster must be mental for taking it on, even though he was the bigger cat.

In response Elspeth picked up a cushion off the couch and hurled it at the cats, who jumped away from each other, the cushion landing on the floor between them, sending them scattering in opposite directions, the black cat still hissing like a mad kettle.

“Little bastards, they’re always having a go at each other are those two. I don’t know why Buster keeps going back for more, he always gets his fat arse kicked. Maleficent is a real bitch.”

“I’ll bet,” said Brodie. He got to his feet. “Thank you Elspeth, we appreciate you talking to us.”

“Go on, tell me what Mark’s done.”

“We’re just trying to ascertain something that happened in his past.”

“I knew it, he’s dodgy.”

“Thank you for your time,” he said before heading for the door.

“I’ll find out anyway,” she called after him.

Something black shot out in front of Brodie, tripping him and he had to grasp onto the doorframe to stop himself from falling over. There was a flash of green eyes and sharp white teeth, the cat hissed at him and Cass sniggered. Angrily he wrenched the front door open and stomped outside.

“Let’s go and see Katie Marsh,” he growled.

“I hope she doesn’t have any cats,” commented Cass.

The house they approached three doors down was absolutely identical to Elspeth’s - a detached soulless box. The door was opened by a mousy-haired woman who blinked up at them timidly from under a frizzy fringe. “Hello?”

“Katie Marsh?”

She nodded, eyes suspicious, hand on the door ready to slam it shut should it become necessary.

“My name’s Brodie MacBride and this is my associate, Cass Carlisle. We wondered if we could talk to you about Sarah Creegan. You might know her better as Sarah Tindell.”

“Why would I want to talk about her? I’ve not done anything, I told her I wouldn’t,” she said, brown eyes bulging.

Cass and Brodie glanced at each other.

“No one’s saying you did,” said Cass. “We’d just like to talk, that’s all.”

“I don’t understand why,” said Katie, doing a good impression of someone who was about to slam the door in the faces.

“We’re trying to get some information about her past.”

“Are you police?” she said, suddenly looking more interested.

“I used to be,” replied Brodie. “I’m a private investigator now.”

“Is she in some sort of trouble?” Katie’s eyes were practically shining with malice.

“No, at least, I hope not.”

She chewed her lip thoughtfully before saying, “come in.” She strode back into the house, leaving them to close the door behind them. They paused in the hallway and stared at all the closed doors, unsure of which way she’d gone. Katie’s head popped out of a door to their left. “Through here.”

Brodie and Cass entered a room that was the complete opposite to Elspeth’s. There was stuff everywhere - old newspapers, magazines, tacky ornaments that looked like they’d come from a pound shop. Chinzy plates depicting places the family had probably never been covered one entire wall showing The Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids of Giza, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben and many more. The couches were covered in huge, overstuffed furry cushions in a gaudy pink and the matching rug on the floor was so busy it gave Brodie a headache.

He could sense Cass bristling beside him. She had always considered interior design vital in a home and she had great taste. This must be torture for her.

“Make this quick, Mum and Dad will be back soon,” said Katie, eyes slipping to the window then back to Brodie. “So what’s she done?”

“Nothing,” he replied.

Katie appeared crestfallen. “Oh. Then what is this about?”

“We’re investigating on behalf of her family and some background into her childhood would help us no end.”

“I don’t know if I should. Sarah wouldn’t like it.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Not for years. I was fifteen.”

“That’s a long time.”

“Not to me.”

“I promise not to tell her we were here, how’s that?” said Brodie, flashing his best smile.

Katie looked up at him coyly and smiled back. “Okay, as long as you promise, hand on heart.”

He placed his hand on his chest and put on his most solemn expression. “I swear on my life.”

This satisfied her. “What do you want to know?”

“We heard you had a falling out with Sarah when you were young,” began Brodie.

Katie nodded, swallowing nervously and picking at her fingernails.

“Can you explain what happened?” he said gently. He could sense how fragile she was, in fact she reminded him of Lauren Creegan, so he knew he had to go easy.

“She…she thought a boy she liked fancied me,” she began, blushing.

“Did he?”

Katie nodded, big watery eyes continuously blinking, a nervous gesture. “I know you probably don’t believe it to look at me but me and him liked the same things. He was into computer games too. Sarah thought they were stupid, she used to make fun of me for liking them, said I should get a life, but she didn’t know Patrick liked them too. When she found out that he did she started asking me lots of questions about the games and started to play, trying to pretend she’d been into them for ages but Patrick wasn’t fooled. He was so handsome,” she said dreamily. “I never thought a boy like him would fancy me but he did. Sarah couldn’t believe it either. She’d gone to so much trouble to try and get him to notice her but he never did. It was me he liked,” she said defiantly. “Sarah wasn’t happy. She blamed me. She got angry and…”

“And what?” said Brodie encouragingly when she trailed off.

“She hurt me,” she whispered.

CHAPTER 11

The room went silent when the front door banged open, followed by the sound of a man and a woman bickering.

“Mum and Dad are home,” said Katie.

Brodie’s heart sank, certain the interview was over.

In walked a middle-aged couple laden down with shopping bags.

“We got your Complan Katie…oh, I didn’t know we had company,” said the woman, an older version of her daughter with her thick glasses and frizzy hair.

“It’s alright. This is my mum, Sally. Mum, this is Mr Brodie and his friend…sorry I’ve forgotten your name,” she said to Cass. “Nothing personal, my memory’s shocking.”

“Cass Carlisle,” she said pleasantly, extending her hand to Katie’s mother. “This is my boss, Brodie MacBride.”

“I thought you said his name was Mr Brodie?” said Sally.

“Brodie’s his first name,” explained Cass, knowing how much the widespread confusion over his name annoyed him.

“Sorry,” said Katie.

“It’s okay, I get it a lot,” he smiled.

“So you’re both friends of Katie’s?” said Sally. “Good, it’s about time she brought some friends round, she’s on her own so much with her silly games. It’s ridiculous at her age, computer games are something little boys play with…”

“I’m George, Katie’s dad,” said the man standing behind Sally. “Just ignore my wife, she does go on.”

“Hey…”

“Enough Sally, I’ve had your wittering all bloody day and I can’t take another second.”

Cass hid her smile at the sight of the small, grey haired man putting the big, blousy brunette in her place. It worked too because Sally went quiet.

“What can we do for you?” said George.

“We just wanted to have a chat with Katie, that’s all,” said Brodie.

“Are you her boyfriend? It’s about time,” grinned Sally. “I’m a sucker for a Scottish accent.”

“Mum, he’s a private investigator,” said Katie, mortified.

“A private investigator?” repeated Sally, looking appalled. “Katie, what have you done?”

“Nothing. They want to know about Sarah.”

“Sarah? Sarah who?” Realisation dawned and Sally’s eyes widened. “What do you mean by coming here and dragging up old hurts Mr Brodie? Katie’s put that behind her, she’s moved on and you rake it all up again.” She turned to her daughter. “Don’t you worry love, I’ll get rid of them for you.”

“I don’t need you to get rid of them. I’m twenty nine, old enough to deal with things on my own.”

“I know that sweetheart but Sarah Tindell…”

“What did she do?” said Brodie when mother and daughter went quiet and stared at each other.

“She hurt Katie badly,” said George when the two women didn’t speak.

“May we ask how?” said Cass.

“Not until you tell us exactly why you’re here,” retorted George.

“I can’t give you any details because of client confidentiality,” said Brodie. “But please be assured that we only have your daughter’s best interests at heart.”

“You’ve been talking to the mad cat lady, haven’t you?” said Sally.

“I assume you mean Elspeth?”

“Yes I do. She’s been blabbing again. You’d almost think she was proud of what her niece did.”

“She told us part of the story but she said we had to ask Katie if we wanted to know the whole story. What did Sarah do?” said Brodie.

“Why should we tell you? Unless you’re going to make sure she’s finally punished for it,” said Sally.

“I can’t decide that until I know what she did.”

“Mum, I want to tell him,” said Katie.

“Why?” she demanded, hands on hips.

“Because I’ve avoided the subject for nearly fifteen years. I think it would help to talk about it with someone I don’t know, someone who won’t judge me.”

Sally looked heartbroken. “I’ve never judged you sweetie, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I know but it’s always there, the elephant in the room and I’m sick of it. I want it gone.”

George and Sally looked at each other sadly and nodded. “Okay,” said George. He turned to Brodie. “But only once I’ve established your credentials.”

“Here’s my card,” replied Brodie, handing it to him. “Everything’s legitimate, I’m a member of the Association of British Investigators.”

“Katie, don’t say another word until I return,” said George before heading into the hallway to use the phone.

“Why do you want to know about Sarah?” said Sally, as suspicious as her husband. “It was years ago.”

“I’ve been engaged by a client who is concerned for Sarah’s wellbeing,” explained Brodie.

“Why?”

“It’s to do with her husband, but we were here speaking to her aunt to get a bit of background about the family and she mentioned what happened between the two of you,” he said, fixing Katie with his amber eyes.

“What exactly did she say?” said Sally when Katie looked away.

“She mentioned an argument and some hair pulling. Apparently something else happened but she refused to tell us, she said it had to come from Katie,” he replied, addressing Katie, who was staring at the carpet and squirming on the spot.

They waited in silence for George to complete his call. They could all hear him on the phone but his words were muffled because the door was closed. A minute later he returned.

“Alright, it seems they are who they say they are,” said George, almost appearing disappointed. “Apparently private investigators aren’t licenced but it’s a real business. Do you still want to talk to them?”

Katie nodded determinedly. “I do.”

“Okay sweetheart, if that’s what you want. We’ll just be in the next room,” said George. He put a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder and steered her to the door.

“Sorry about them,” said Katie when they’d gone.

“They’re only being protective,” replied Brodie, wishing his own dad had been more like George Marsh. His brother and sister might have stood more of a chance if he had.

“Sit down,” she said, gesturing to the couch. “Would you like a drink?”

Brodie was parched but he was afraid that if they delayed any longer they’d never get to hear her story, which he was burning to hear. “No thanks,” he replied, knowing Cass would be in perfect accord with his decision.

Katie sat opposite them and stared at her hands. For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to talk, until she raised her head.

“I always knew Sarah had a mean streak. She was really aggressive and even though she was small people were afraid of her, she had a huge temper. Most of the time it was just talk. She’d threaten people but she’d never go through with her threats. That was until Patrick came along.”

“The boy who liked you?” said Cass.

Katie nodded. “Sarah went crazy over him. I don’t think she particularly liked him, it was just that he was good looking and he never showed any interest in her. She always wanted what I had, she used to take my stuff home without asking but Mum and Dad always made sure I got it back. Her parents were nice, they knew what she was like, although they never did anything to change her.

Patrick resisted all her attempts to seduce him, he could see right through her, so he ignored her, which only made her madder. At me. One day she came to visit, she was nice, said she was sorry for how she’d been about Patrick. I thought we were friends again. Then she turned. She started screaming and shouting at me and pulling my hair. She hit me and I fell down and banged my head. I think I was concussed because I couldn’t get back up again, my legs wouldn’t work and I couldn’t talk properly. All I could do was lie there as she pulled this huge knife out of the carrier bag she’d brought with her. She’d wrapped it in a tea towel so it wouldn’t show. I was laid on the floor injured but she didn’t help me. She waved the knife in front of my face and said whores should always get what they deserved.” Tears filled Katie’s eyes and she pulled off her glasses and wiped them away. Brodie thought how pretty she was without them. “Mum always made me wear skirts, she said girls shouldn’t wear trousers. Sarah pulled up my skirt and pulled down my knickers and threatened to shove the knife up inside me.”

Brodie and Cass were too professional to let out appalled gasps, even though they felt it inside.

“When I wet myself with fear she just laughed,” said Katie. “I’m not ashamed of that part.”

“You shouldn’t be Katie,” said Cass gently. “You must have been terrified.”

“I was because I knew she could do it. She said Patrick wouldn’t want me if I was all cut up and ruined down there. I really thought she was going to do it, for a second. Then she put the knife away and left, laughing.

I was too scared to move, I just lay on the floor crying until Mum came home. She found me and demanded to know what had happened, so I told her. She went mad and went straight to Elspeth’s house. Sarah was staying there then. Sarah denied it but Mum wouldn’t let up. When she threatened to call the police Elspeth called Sarah’s parents, who came straight over. Sarah put on a front, said
I
was the mad one, that I wouldn’t leave her alone. Her parents believed her, like they always did. I suppose they found it hard to believe any boy would fancy me over their daughter. She’d never been punished for anything in her life so she knew she’d get away with it again, and she did. Her mum and dad promised my parents they wouldn’t let Sarah near me again.”

“Was that it?” frowned Brodie.

“They tried to…give me money,” said Katie, embarrassed. “I wasn’t going to take it, I didn’t want a penny from them but Dad said they had to pay for my therapy. I had bad dreams for months after it happened and I…I was scared of being near a boy, afraid that it would feel like that, you know, with the knife.”

Cass’s heart went out to her. “It doesn’t,” she said, patting her hand.

Brodie’s thoughts immediately flew back to that one wonderful night he’d shared with Cass and he shifted in his seat as the familiar tingle started down below. The last thing he wanted to do when this poor woman was pouring her heart out was get an erection.

“I know that now,” said Katie shyly. “The therapist really helped me but I still have the dreams now and then.”

“What happened to Patrick?” said Cass.

“He met another girl who he eventually married. He moved away and we lost touch.”

“Did you ever see Sarah again?” said Brodie.

“From a distance a few times. I saw her across the street, glaring at the house but she didn’t come near, she was too afraid of my mum going to the police and of everyone hearing about what she’d done. I think she was more afraid of that than the police, appearances are everything to her.”

“Have you seen her recently?” said Cass.

“No, why should I? She’s not going to come round here, is she?” said Katie, looking panicky.

“Of course not,” soothed Cass. “You don’t need to ever see her again.”

Katie relaxed. “Thank God for that. She would have done it you know, with the knife if she’d wanted to. She was capable.”

“We don’t doubt what you say,” said Cass with a gentle smile. “Thank you for talking to us, it couldn’t have been easy.”

“It was easier than I thought it would be. It helped actually. What will you do with this information?”

“I can promise we won’t tell Sarah we were here,” said Brodie. “You’ve given us a lot of useful background about her.”

“She’s a nasty, horrible, two-faced witch,” said Katie. “She acts all sweet and butter-wouldn’t-melt but underneath she’s all…spiky. She destroyed my confidence, I was never the same again. Look at me, nearly thirty and still living with my mum and dad. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been great but sometimes I feel so smothered.” The bitter look vanished, replaced by a shy smile. “Sometimes I wonder what happened to Patrick Wiley, I would like to know if he got into computer programming like he always wanted to.”

The door burst open and an anxious Sally stood there, wringing her hands. “Are you okay love?”

“Fine,” replied Katie, looking tired. “We’re done here.”

“Thank you for talking to us,” said Cass. “It’ll remain between us, we promise.”

“It better had because if it doesn’t she will come back for me.”

“You might find Sarah’s changed,” said Brodie. “She’s a wife and mother now.”

“People like her don’t change,” said Sally.

Cass and Brodie decided not to argue, it would be pointless. “Thank you for your time, we’ll get out of your hair now,” he said.

They left the house and wandered back down the road to their car. Elspeth was in her garden yelling abuse at the man next door, who seemed to be trying to complain about her cats fouling his garden. The man released a shriek and raced back indoors when she hurled the evil black cat she cradled in her arms at him. Nimbly the cat landed on all fours and gleefully pelted after the man as he raced for his front door. He just managed to get inside and shut the door before it reached him, which Brodie thought was fortunate for him.

“Nice try Maleficent, maybe next time,” cackled Elspeth. She held out her arms and the cat vaulted back over the hedge where it slunk around her legs, rubbing her face against her mistress’s calves.