As if by Magic (16 page)

Jonah shook his head.

‘Where else did they hit you?’

‘They didn’t really. I was wearing a helmet but took a bit of a bump when I fell off.’

Jessica nodded before Reynolds thanked Jonah for his time and said they would come back to him when they had news.

‘Everything all right?’ Reynolds asked when they were back in the car.

‘Why didn’t they hit him in the head? Or the groin for that matter?’ Jessica asked.

Reynolds flicked his windscreen wipers back up to full speed. ‘Why would they?’

‘I don’t know – it seems strange to me. They knew who he was and wanted to teach him a lesson because his Dad’s a judge. So why did they just nick a hundred quid and give him a bit of a kicking? If they really wanted to teach him a lesson, why not pull the helmet off and hit him in the head? You know what men are like; you always go for the head or the balls. Girls go for the hair and the eyes.’

‘Maybe they didn’t want to do serious damage? One kick in the head could kill someone and then you’re looking at murdering a judge’s son, rather than robbing one.’

Jessica wasn’t convinced. ‘I suppose... but how did they know where he was? We know it was nothing to do with the people that actually ordered that pizza, so how did they know the direction he went in?’

‘I’ve already got someone looking at everyone who works in that shop. It wouldn’t take much to tip someone off. Not only that, the road he was on is a cut-through from the shop to pretty much anywhere out Longsight way. He’d take that route regardless of whether it was an order for one pizza or ten. If whoever it was knew where he worked, it wouldn’t take much figuring out to wait for the kid on the moped. The money might have just been a bonus.’

It did sound possible, certainly stranger things had happened and far more complex plans had been thought up.

As he took a corner, Reynolds’ phone sounded. He pressed a button on the steering wheel and the caller’s voice filled the car. ‘DI Reynolds,’ he said.

‘Have you got DS Daniel with you?’ Cole’s voice replied.

‘Yes, she’s sat next to me. You’re on speakerphone and we’re on our way back.’

There was an uncomfortable pause. ‘Turn around; I need you to go to Brenda Gale’s house.’

EIGHTEEN

Jessica could tell from his tone that Cole felt uncomfortable talking about Brenda with her on speakerphone but he appeared not to have much choice.

Reynolds pulled up outside Brenda’s house and told Jessica to let him do the talking before ringing the doorbell. When she answered the door, the woman was still wearing what looked like the exact same clothes she’d had on the previous times Jessica had met her; a tight dark skirt and a blouse. She had short black hair and kept incredibly good care of herself. As she turned and wiggled her way along the hallway, Jessica couldn’t help but see that Reynolds had noticed Brenda’s shape. She nudged him with her elbow and raised her eyebrows to say that perhaps it wasn’t just her that should be kept away from the woman.

Brenda didn’t look behind her but Jessica suspected she was among the most self-aware people she had ever met and knew full-well the effect she was having. She had a charm about her that was hard to ignore; a twinkle to the eye, a knowing look, pursed lips that looked as if they could eviscerate or make you feel like the only person in the room at any given moment.

They followed her along the hallway, through the kitchen and out of the back door as Brenda stood under a slight overhang looking out towards the garden. ‘Look at that,’ she said pointing towards the centre.

The rain had slowed to a drizzle and both officers pulled their collars up before venturing across the grass. In the middle of the garden were the bodies of two cats and a dog. None of the animals appeared to have any gashes or obvious injuries but they had been placed delicately on their sides, with their eyes facing the house. The dog was one of the small, yappy ones that Jessica always told people she would run over if she had half-a-chance. In reality, she would never do something like that and it certainly didn’t seem right for someone to have killed the creatures. She tried to think how it was connected and had no doubt Brenda had done something to get their attention. It had been a few weeks since Jessica had walked out of Brenda’s house and, at the time, she had felt as if the woman wanted to play with her; to push her and see how far she could go. Since then she had largely obeyed Cole and Reynolds by staying away. Was this a ploy because Brenda wanted her back at her house?

A high fence ran around the entirety of the garden, while the only obvious way in would have been through the gate at the side of the house, which, from where she was standing, looked as if it would only come up to her waist. It wouldn’t take much effort to get over it.

Reynolds was crouched next to the animals, although he hadn’t touched them. ‘The rain has completely screwed us again,’ he said, nodding towards the lawn. It was soaked and Jessica couldn’t see anything that looked like footprints leading away from the spot.

They walked back to the house and Reynolds assured Brenda someone would be along to catalogue the site and remove the animals. ‘It’s a busy morning with the weather,’ he added as he wiped his feet on the mat just inside the door. Jessica took extra care doing the same, not wanting to do anything that could be seen as antagonising, at least not in the presence of Reynolds.

Brenda led them into the living room and offered to make tea. Annoyingly for Jessica, Reynolds accepted on this occasion, which, in keeping with her trying to be as polite as possible, meant she had to as well.

They sat in silence until Brenda returned a few minutes later with three teacups. Jessica watched her place them on the coffee table but the woman was going out of her way not to make eye-contact with her. Instead, she sat in the armchair, crossed her legs one way, then the other, and then stared intently at Reynolds while cradling her cup. In some strange way, it was almost erotic but Jessica could see it for the game it was.

‘When did you notice the animals?’ Reynolds asked.

‘I had a bit of a lie-in this morning,’ Brenda replied crisply. ‘I saw them when I came downstairs and opened the blinds. Perhaps an hour ago, I suppose.’

‘And you called us straight away?’

‘Of course, Inspector.’ She followed it up with a gentle, flirtatious laugh and a subtle flick of her hair, then spent the next fifteen minutes telling Reynolds how it was shocking and that she felt “violated” by somebody stepping on to her property. She said she was aware of her neighbours’ pets going missing but that they all got on terrifically and that she had felt the same concern as them when their animals were taken.

Jessica remained professional, saying nothing, and writing down what she needed. All the while, there was only one word running through her head: liar.

For his part, Reynolds didn’t seem to react to the flirting, asking his questions as calmly as she would have expected him to. She suspected the show was for her benefit; to annoy her and remind her that she hadn’t been forgotten. Brenda didn’t glance at her once, instead acting as if Reynolds was the only other person in the room.

The charade was broken when Reynolds’ phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and gave a nervous look towards Jessica in what was a clear warning, before apologising and leaving the room. Jessica heard the hallway door click and was fully prepared to sit in silence until Brenda spoke.

‘Nice to see you again, Ms Daniel. I thought you might end up coming back, especially after our last conversation.’

For a moment, Jessica stayed silent. She wanted to say nothing, to not be drawn in, but she couldn’t help herself. ‘You know we’re on to you, don’t you?’

Brenda smiled as they locked eyes. ‘Your games won’t work, you know.’

‘What games?’

‘The washing that’s gone missing from my line; the animals left on my lawn. You don’t have to kid around now it’s just us. We both know the score.’

Jessica felt confused but fought not to show it. ‘You’re not going to draw me in. You’ll make a mistake.’

Suddenly, Brenda’s voice dropped to a whisper, her tone furious and her eyes blazing. ‘You should be careful, Ms Daniel. I warned you once before.’

‘Why don’t you wait for my Inspector to get back and you can threaten me in front of him?’

Brenda started to say something but was interrupted as the hallway door clicked open. Reynolds walked in and looked from Jessica to Brenda but, by then, the older women was smiling sweetly again.

‘We’re going to go talk to some of your neighbours who we believe these animals belong to if that’s okay,’ Reynolds said to Brenda. ‘Someone will come along to help you clean up and take a more formal statement. Obviously feel free to contact us if there’s anything else you remember.’

Brenda was back to her perfect best. ‘Of course, Inspector.’

As they left, Reynolds asked Jessica the obligatory, “Everything all right?”, which was clearly code for, “You didn’t say anything stupid, did you?”.

Jessica grunted to say everything was well, before he led her to the house next door.

If someone were to ask her to describe a little old lady, Jessica would have pointed to Elsie Wright as the perfect example. Brenda’s neighbour was shorter than Jessica, in her late-sixties with curly grey hair and, of course, female.

Elsie smiled broadly as she welcomed them in out of the “dreadful weather”. A small brown and white ball of hair that Jessica assumed was a dog yapped at her ankles the moment she stepped into the hallway, clinging on to her foot as she tried to walk.

‘Oh don’t mind Harold, he loves new people,’ Elsie said over her shoulder as the dog somehow untied Jessica’s shoelace and then started chasing it.

Reynolds carried on into the kitchen with what sounded distinctly like a chuckle as Jessica kneeled down to retie her shoe. Harold snapped around her hands, nipping at her fingers playfully before giving a bark and running towards the door and turning around to see where she had gone.

As soon as Jessica was on her feet again, the dog was running between her legs in what she could only assume was a deliberate attempt to trip her up.

In the kitchen, Elsie had already put the kettle on and asked Jessica if she wanted tea. It wasn’t even midday and Jessica was feeling weary from the sheer amount of hot drinks she had been offered, let alone accepted. She didn’t think there were many things that could unite the entire country but, if there ever came a day of national teabag shortages, Jessica suspected that would be it – and she did not fancy being one of the poor souls on duty trying to keep a nation from its tea.

The woman tinkered around the kitchen, rattling china teacups and asking them twice each if they took sugar, before waggling a glass milk bottle in their faces and saying she had only ever had full-fat milk and that it had done her no harm. Reynolds could have interrupted at any point to bring the conversation around to her pet but even Jessica thought it was sweet the way Elsie had a story for almost everything she used in the tea-making process. What wasn’t quite so endearing was Harold the dog, who seemed to have decided Jessica’s shoelaces were there entirely for his own pleasure. He had somehow untied both of her shoes and, from what she could see under the kitchen table, there was every chance he had tied them together.

Eventually, Elsie sat with them at the table and dried her hands on the apron she was wearing. ‘Now then,’ she said looking from Reynolds to Jessica and back again, ‘How can I help you?’

Brenda had already told them that she hadn’t spoken to any of her neighbours since discovering the animals and, while they weren’t particularly in the habit of doing death-knocks for animals, Reynolds wanted to find out first-hand what had happened from the person whose animal had most-recently gone missing.

‘I’m afraid it’s because the dog you contacted us about yesterday, Mrs Wright,’ Reynolds said.

Elsie’s eyes widened. ‘Barney? Have you found him? Poor Harold’s been missing him dreadfully. They’re like two peas in a pod.’

Suddenly and inexplicably, Jessica felt a tingle down her back and a lump in her throat as Harold continued to bark at her feet. She had an image of him sitting out in the rain on his own, drenched and staring wistfully at the back door for his friend who never came. For someone who tried to keep her emotions hidden as much as possible, Jessica didn’t know what to do.

‘I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news,’ Reynolds said but Jessica didn’t hear the rest of the sentence. She was so busy swallowing and blinking in an effort to stop herself doing one of the most unprofessional, and more importantly – embarrassing – things ever, that the kitchen became a blur.

After Reynolds had finished explaining about the dog’s death and where the body had been found, Elsie took a tissue out of her sleeve and blew her nose, before returning it. ‘Poor old Barney,’ she said. ‘When my husband Jack died, my daughter got me Barney and Harold to keep me company. They’re exhausting, of course, but they help keep me young. It’s great for the grandchildren, too. I’ve had them since they were puppies.’

She spoke with such a whimper that Jessica was struggling to keep it together; puppies, dead husbands, grandchildren, Barney and bloody Harold, it was like a tsunami of emotion that had somehow penetrated what Detective Constable David Rowlands frequently called her “black, black heart”. Luckily, neither Reynolds nor Elsie seemed to pay her much attention. Instead, he had a hand placed on top of the older woman’s consolingly.

After what seemed like an age, Reynolds asked Elsie if she could tell them exactly what had happened.

‘I always let them out in the afternoon,’ Elsie began. ‘I’m not too good with walking them nowadays, my legs can’t take it, but they chase each other around. Usually I give them half an hour and they’re scratching at the door but I was watching television in the living room under my blanket and the next thing I know two hours had passed.’

Jessica was finally feeling like herself again as Elsie took a sip of her tea before continuing. ‘As I walked through the kitchen, I expected to see Barney and Harold either running around or barking for me but it was quiet and, when I opened the back door, Harold was sitting there on his own. We’re all quite friendly on the street, so I’d heard about the cats going missing and then it dawned on me that perhaps they hadn’t just ran away...’