Don't Turn Around (10 page)

J
ennifer hovered
her hand over the black porcelain bedside lamp and reluctantly switched it off. She slid into her crisp white sheets, cocooned by the contrasting black baroque papered walls. Slivers of moonlight reflected in the mirror over her white vanity table, and her heart skipped a beat as she glimpsed a darting shadow in the glass.
There’s nothing there,
she told herself, wishing she had chosen a warmer theme when decorating her bedroom. Laying back on her soft pillow, she closed her eyes as tiredness overcame her. As her breathing slowed, a slight tremble of the mattress pulled her from sleep. Bleary-eyed, she glanced around the empty room before lying back down. She did not hear the faint tinkle of her glass chandelier as a jagged swirl of mist darted overhead.

J
ennifer’s muscles
burned as she polished the window ledges in her bedroom. She had been up since dawn, mindlessly cleaning as she tried to work things out in her head. Until recently, the work, eat, sleep cycle was something Jennifer had grown used to as one day merged into another. But the comfort of the routine came crashing down around her as her thoughts became filled with her recent encounters. She raked her brain for a rational explanation. It was no secret that Johnny had pissed off some very bad people, but why would anyone want to kill Charlie? The memory of his pleading in the cell told her his death was no accident. What if there were more to come? And if so, who could help her? Their family priest had advised her as a child and for that she was grateful. But there was one thing stopping her from giving him a call to help now. He was a stickler for church attendance and may berate her for her lack of faith. A devout Catholic, her mother would have been horrified that Jennifer had ceased going to church. But for Jennifer, turning her back on her faith was a final act of defiance. She knew in her heart, though, that holding on to her bitterness would only hurt her in the end. She wondered what sort of a person it made her, being angry at her mother who had been taken so tragically. Perhaps the sort of person a dark entity would be attracted to.

J
ennifer was still thinking
of the entity during her suspect interview at work that afternoon. It was a domestic abuse incident in which the suspect had tried to strangle his wife. He had already admitted to the offence, and was recounting the incident in a slow monotonous voice. Will had to kick her under the table more than once to bring her back into the questioning, Doubts had started to creep in, and she had been wondering if she imagined the voice coming from Johnny and Charlie had sounded the same. What if their deaths really were accidents? Or what if they had been orchestrated by someone who knew of her abilities and was making it look like it was paranormal to mess with her head? Will passed a folded note asking if she was all right. He could read her like a book. She gave her most reassuring smile and returned her attention to the remorseful suspect before her.

J
ennifer had settled
down to the post interview paperwork when Steph marched into the office, closely followed by a suited young man. ‘Ah, here you are. This is PC Ethan Cole; he’s on attachment for a few days. Ethan, this is Jennifer Knight.’

Jennifer nodded an acknowledgement as Steph continued.

‘Everyone else here is tied up, so I’ve allocated him to shadow you. He’s thinking about putting in for his detective’s exam so don’t put him off.’

Graced with a confident presence, Ethan virtually dwarfed Steph at over six feet tall. His crisp white shirt complimented the tones of his almond brown skin, and he gave Jennifer a broad smile as he extended his hand. Jennifer’s eyes flickered over to her colleague Susie, who was positively leering from the far end of the office. Jennifer flushed as she showed Ethan to her desk.

‘I’m sorry you got the short straw. I’m sure you would have preferred Westlea nick to this one.’

‘Not at all.’ Ethan said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. ‘They don’t have much time for one-to-ones. I’m hoping I can pick your brains while I’m here.’

‘Good luck with that,’ Will sniggered, and Jennifer narrowed her eyes in response.

‘Ethan, this is my delightful partner, Will. Ignore everything he says, or better still, do the opposite, and you will be well on your way to becoming a fine detective.’

‘Well, I’ll leave you to it. Just make sure Ethan is included. It should help free Will up to get on with his workload.’ Steph nodded towards Will’s mountain of paperwork that appeared to have reproduced overnight.

Jennifer had mixed feelings about being shadowed. It would be nice to have the distraction of working with Ethan, but having him watch her every move would make it difficult to investigate the police system for clues of Charlie’s death.

‘I’ve got some enquiries to make with regards to a robbery we dealt with this afternoon. I was about to pick up the CCTV. Would you like to help Will with his files, or come with me?’

Ethan grinned. ‘Hmmm, a ton of paperwork or going for a drive?’

Jennifer threw him the car keys. ‘In that case, you’re driving.’

Will pulled a face and Jennifer reciprocated with a wink as she followed Ethan to the back yard.

The beeps of the central locking system directed Ethan to the job car as he pressed the key fob. Disappointed at what awaited him, he pushed back the driver seat of the battered Ford to allow for his long legs. ‘I thought CID would have a decent car.’

‘You’re joking, aren’t you? Westlea nick gets all the decent motors. We’re just the poor relations.’ Jennifer clicked her seatbelt into place. ‘We’re going to Cash Savers Pawn Brokers in the town, on 52 Central Avenue. Their CCTV scans the street outside where the suspects were believed to be hanging about before they pounced on our victim.’

‘I know where that is,’ he said, driving through the rear gates. Ethan flipped on the wipers as the rain began to pelt on the windscreen.

Jennifer tried to cop an eyeful of the cute young officer through a sneaky sidelong glance. He was a definite improvement on most of the old codgers in Haven CID.

‘Have you made an appointment to pick the CCTV up?’ He said, catching her stare.

Jennifer lowered her eyes. ‘No, the storeowner is keeping it for us, he said we can drop by anytime. I thought we could grab it and then pop into Tesco’s so I can get something for lunch.’

Ethan hesitated at the junction, tapping his finger on the steering wheel.

‘It’s left,’ Jennifer said.

‘Yeah, I know, but I left my mobile phone at home.’ Ethan turned his dark brown eyes on her. ‘Sorry to be a nuisance, but would it be all right if we quickly go over to collect it now?’

‘All right then, five minutes won’t hurt, I suppose. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of any missed calls.’

‘There shouldn’t be, I don’t know that many people in the area yet.’ Ethan said.

‘I’m sure there’s lots of female officers in Haven that would be happy to show you around,’ Jennifer grinned, smoothing over her skirt.

‘So how long have you been in the job?’ he asked, ramming the reluctant car into gear.

‘Forever. I joined when I was eighteen. You?’

‘Not long, I’ve just finished my probation. I was travelling before that. I thought I should settle down, so I decided to give CID a try.’

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. ‘So you joined when you were …’

‘Twenty-five. I’m twenty-seven now.’

‘Oh, you’re only a baby then,’ she smiled.

Ethan beamed, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. ‘I’ve been called many things in my career, a baby isn’t one of them.’

The car pulled up onto a pretty tree lined brick drive, and Jennifer surveyed the two-story building in wonder. ‘Nice house,’ she thought out loud.

‘It’s my mom’s. She lives in America now, but uses this as a base to visit.’

‘Ah, I thought I heard an American twang.’

‘My accent’s a bit of a jumble with all my travelling. Come inside, I’ll make you a coffee.’

Jennifer glanced at her watch, reasoning she could spare time for a break. ‘Go on then, I’m gagging for a cuppa.’

Two white pillars flanked the wide front door. Ethan produced a set of keys from his pocket and went inside. The hall was warm and welcoming, and she followed him to the living room on the right. Beautiful trinkets from exotic lands decorated each room, and artwork delivered colourful splashes to the pale walls. Jennifer looked approvingly at the clean surfaces, complemented by the modern interior design. In the kitchen, Ethan filled the percolator and the smell of roasting coffee filled the air.

Jennifer dumped her things on the brown leather sofa and perused the titles on his mahogany bookshelf. The
Karma Sutra
stood out along with other titles on tantric sex. A row of leather bound books caught her eye. They were numbered one to ten, but did not bear any title. She slowly slid one out and opened it, the yellowed paper giving off an old book smell.
The Occult – Realms of the Living Dead.
Jennifer picked out another,
The Occult, Significance of Blood
. She opened one more to reveal the title;
The Book of Forbidden Knowledge
.

‘You like my book collection?’ Ethan spoke behind her, and she jumped in surprise.

‘Oh, sorry. This wasn’t what I was expecting for a man of your age,’ Jennifer said sheepishly, sliding the books back where she found them.

‘They’re vintage. I picked them up while on my travels. What were you expecting,
Beano
annuals?’ Ethan laughed.

‘No, of course not,’ she replied, smiling in apology.

‘I’m just teasing. Can I make you a sandwich? Chicken salad OK?’

‘Yes please.’ Jennifer said, as he opened the fridge door. Her mouth began to water at the sight of the sandwich on thick wholegrain bread. Slices of avocado lined the chicken and lettuce, with a covering of mayonnaise. An open bowl of kettle chips was placed beside her plate, and a saucer held chocolate brownies.

Ethan poured fresh coffee into Jennifer’s cup and pushed the bowl of sugar and a tiny jug of cream towards her. She took a napkin and dabbed her lips before taking a crisp. ‘This beats Tesco’s.’

‘It’s no trouble. I can’t take credit for the brownies, though; they’re shop bought.’

‘So tell me, what’s a successful young man like you doing in Haven? Or is that being too forward?’ Jennifer took another bite of her sandwich to shut herself up.

‘No, it’s OK,’ Ethan said ‘People ask me that all the time, where I’m from, what I’m doing here. My mother is African American, and my dad is British. She met him when she was here on business. It didn’t work out, so she went back to Washington. Against her advice, I came over here to meet my dad and decided to stay. I guess joining the police was an act of rebellion.’

‘I can think of more rebellious things to do. Are you in it for the long haul?’

‘To be honest I’m not sure, that’s why I’m shadowing you.’ Ethan’s eyes met hers. ‘What about you? Are you happy in the police?’

Jennifer quickly chewed the last of her sandwich and washed it down with coffee that was so hot it burnt her throat. ‘I can’t imagine doing anything else,’ she said, clearing up her crumbs. ‘Anyway, time is ticking and we’ve got CCTV to view.’ She began to feel guilty, playing lady of the manor while Will was back at the station buried in work.

T
hey made
it to the pawn shop just in time. A far cry from the organised Cash Converters down the road, Mr Marshall’s dimly lit shop was a disorganised clutter mountain. Jennifer squeezed past the jumble of furniture, unwanted exercise equipment and locked cabinets, inhaling the musty smell of items long since forgotten. A stag’s head glared from the wall of the back room, beside shelves piled high with old books and outdated televisions. As Jennifer stared at the grainy image on the CCTV, her thoughts returned to Charlie. Perhaps she could distract Ethan long enough to make some enquiries when she got back to the office. She looked at her watch. ‘Can you do the house to house enquiries while I take a quick statement from Mr. Marshall please?’

Ethan nodded as he took down details of the time of the robbery in his notebook.

Jennifer seized the CCTV disc as evidence and took a statement from the small grey-haired shop owner, who had lived in the area all his life.

Removing his horn-rimmed glasses, he rubbed the indents from the bridge of his nose. ‘Poor old Ethel, she pawned her wedding ring to get that money. One of my regulars she is, Ethel has been coming in here every month since her old man died. She’d save her few pennies to buy back her ring, and then she’d get some bill and end up pawning it again. I don’t have many regulars these days, not with these blooming payday loans springing up all over the place, but at least I don’t rob people blind like they do.’ Mr. Marshall was about to launch into another tirade when Jennifer brought his attention back to the task in hand.

‘We’ve interviewed the suspects, but they’re denying everything.’

Mr. Marshall shook his head. ‘I don’t know why they pulled a knife on her. She’s over eighty years old. She would have just given it to them.’

‘I know, it’s awful. At least she wasn’t hurt.’ Jennifer quickly penned a statement covering the seizure of the CCTV and handed it to him to sign. His watery eyes magnified like saucers as he put his glasses on and read over it, signing the bottom of the page in a scrawl. Jennifer recollected the old Mr. Magoo cartoons she watched as a child. ‘Of course in my day they would have got a good clip around the ear. I don’t suppose you can do that anymore, can you?’

‘No, I’m afraid not, although I’ve felt like it often enough. Mr. Marshall, can you hang onto the footage from the previous few days for us, please? I’d like to ask one of our community support officers to come in and look through it, in case we’re missing anything.’

‘Yes, yes of course. They know they’re welcome here for a cuppa any time.’

Jennifer said her goodbyes and walked back to the car to wait for Ethan. Her phone beeped into life with two texts. The first was from Will asking for lunch. Jennifer quickly texted a reply and moved on to the next one from Susie.