Kissing the Demons (26 page)

After a brief conversation, she looked up at Joe, a triumphant smile on her face. ‘Rory Quillan wants to make a statement. He wants to tell us everything.'

Zepper's conscience had kept him awake all night. Pet had trusted him, confided in him. But had he betrayed that trust?

He climbed out of bed, standing naked on the well-worn rug. Pet had been so lovely and he had wanted her . . . just as he had wanted Grace Cassidy all those years ago. Pet had reminded him so much of Grace. And now both girls were dead.

He slipped on his towelling dressing gown and walked into the living room, the polished wooden floor cool beneath his feet. It was Saturday, a full week since he'd taken part in the Early Music Festival. A full week since he'd last seen Pet Ferribie alive, gazing up at him as he performed on that outdoor stage. Somehow it seemed so much longer.

Pet's little pink notebook lay on the coffee table. After making himself a coffee to wake himself up, Zepper opened it. He needed to read it again before he made a decision.

Once he was satisfied that there was nothing in there that might incriminate him, he picked up the phone and dialled the number for Joe Plantagenet's direct line.

‘Zepper's coming in to make a statement,' Joe announced as he and Emily were walking down the corridor to the interview room where Rory Quillan was waiting for them.

Joe saw Emily's eyebrows shoot up. ‘Voluntarily?'

‘Voluntarily. But he wants his solicitor present. He said he has a notebook Pet Ferribie left at the university.'

‘So why hasn't he told us all this before?'

‘No doubt we'll find out when he comes in. He says it's mostly about her search for her mother. There's a lot in it about someone she refers to as The Great Chef. Paolo Jones, I suspect.'

‘Mr Jones is another person we need to talk to again.'

‘I thought he was being quite open.'

‘Oh come on, Joe, I reckon his relationship with Helen Ferribie was a lot more interesting than he was letting on.'

‘Interesting?'

‘Stormy maybe. Lovers' quarrels and all that. She left her husband because he was boring and she wanted to become an artist. I reckon she would have been looking for a bit of passion in her life.' She grinned. ‘As are we all.'

Joe opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. He'd known passion and, in his experience, it only led to pain. Perhaps it had led to pain for Helen Ferribie . . . or even to death.

When they reached the interview room Joe took a deep breath before pushing the door open. As they entered Rory Quillan looked up, his eyes anxious.

‘I want to tell you everything,' he said.

‘A wise decision,' said Emily as she sat down.

‘Jackie's not my wife. In fact we've never even . . .'

‘You mean it's a platonic relationship?'

‘Yeah, something like that.'

‘Tell us how you met.'

‘It was twelve years ago. She was only a kid and she needed help.' He fell silent for a while but Joe and Emily waited for him to gather his thoughts. ‘I was staying at my uncle's house. He was away at the time so I had the place to myself. I went out to this bar . . . Anyway, I picked up this bloke . . . some posh estate agent.' He looked Joe in the eye, challenging him to criticize. ‘That's how I am . . . how I was made. I've always felt more comfortable as a woman and . . .'

‘You've never thought of making it permanent . . . having – what do they call it? – gender reassignment?' Emily asked.

‘That takes some courage . . . having operations and all that. It's not something I've been able to face but . . . maybe one day.'

‘What happened on the night you met Jackie?' Joe knew they were in danger of becoming sidetracked.

‘Like I said, I picked up this bloke in a bar.'

‘Barrington Jenks?'

‘Barry, yes. He was a businessman; an estate agent. Very smart. Nice clothes. Big shiny car. I thought my luck was in.'

‘He said you asked him for money.'

‘I might have asked but I didn't get it. Events rather overtook us.'

‘Tell us what happened.'

‘We went back to the student house next door to my uncle's place because the students were away and I had the spare key my uncle had given me in case of emergency. But it was a lovely summer night so we decided to go into the woods. I got hold of a sleeping bag and . . . It seemed exciting; a little bit dangerous. Anyway, we were . . . when we heard this sound; a bit like sobbing. I said to Barry we should check to see if there was someone there. He was very worried about people finding out, you see – said he was married and had a lot to lose. Anyway, we got ourselves dressed and followed the sound. We got to this clearing and saw this girl lying on the ground. Another girl was bending over her sobbing. She got the shock of her life when she saw us. I rushed over to see if the girl was OK but Barry held back because he didn't want to get involved. I was in women's clothes and I guess the girl was a bit taken aback – or even scared thinking she'd met a pervert in the woods. Or at least that's what she told me later. Anyway, the girl on the ground wasn't breathing and there was blood on her head.'

‘She was dead?'

‘Yes. I asked the girl what had happened and she kept saying she'd killed her. I asked her why and she said she had to stop her. Barry said he had to go. He was scared stiff and he kept saying he couldn't afford anyone to find out. I told him to get the police and the ambulance and when he rushed off I thought that's what he was doing. Anyway, I took Jackie back to the house to wait but it turned out that Barry had buggered off and the police never came. Then I started to have second thoughts. Jackie was in a real state and she kept insisting that it had been an accident.'

‘I thought she'd confessed to killing her.'

‘Yes, but she was really upset and she wasn't thinking straight. She pleaded with me not to call the police but I didn't know what else to do.

‘Did she say how this accident happened?'

‘She said they'd been messing about and the other girl fell and hit her head.'

‘What about her claim that she had to stop her doing something? What did she say about that?'

‘Nothing. And I didn't ask. I just assumed she wanted to stop her getting hurt . . . I don't know.'

‘What did she tell you about the dead girl?'

‘Only that her name was Nerys and she was a friend from school. She seemed very upset at first but then she came to her senses, like someone had flicked on a switch. She said she couldn't face it if the police started asking her questions and she couldn't face going home. She said that if we hid Nerys's body nobody would know. It was a stupid thing to do but I went along with it. I got a wheelbarrow from my uncle's garden and we took Nerys back to number fifteen. Then I thought of the loft. Nobody ever went up there and it'd give us time to think of what to do. I knew my uncle had sealed off the loft hatch next door because some bricks were missing in the party wall and you could get through to his loft that way. He said he didn't want the students getting up there and into his house. He was paranoid like that. We put Nerys at the far end of the loft next to the water tank hidden behind some old trunks, well away from number fifteen and we left her there.' He buried his head in his hands. ‘I'm so sorry. It was a dreadful thing to do but . . .'

‘And Jackie moved in with you?'

‘She said she was in trouble and that she could never go back home because something terrible had happened. I let her stay in my flat and it just became a habit. Then, when I moved into my uncle's place, she moved with me. We never mentioned Nerys lying up there in the loft. It was as if we'd put her out of our heads. Blanked it out of our memories.' He hesitated. ‘What'll happen to us?'

‘That depends on how exactly Nerys died.'

‘She said it was an accident.' Tears began to stream down his cheeks. ‘And I believe her.'

‘What about Barry?'

‘What about him?'

‘You've kept in touch?'

Rory's moist cheeks turned red. ‘That was Jackie's idea. After a couple of years we kept seeing his face on election posters – your parliamentary candidate. Whiter than white. Big house and wife with a plastic smile. Jackie said he was a smug bastard and if only people knew what he really got up to. She made me contact him again . . . ask for money to keep quiet. Then we met up again a few days ago in a hotel. He paid up quite happily. Honest.'

‘And he helped you move the body?'

‘When that girl next door got murdered, me and Jackie thought things were getting a bit hot. What if the police decided to break into the loft and search it? We asked Barry to help us with the move. We needed a bigger car to move her cause I've only got a little Fiat and I reckoned he owed it to us. We had to put her in a bin bag so she wouldn't make a mess all over his precious boot.'

‘And I bet you threatened to go to the press.'

‘Jackie did. It was all her idea. Everything.'

It was an old story, one that Joe and Emily had heard so many times before.

Zepper felt nervous as he was led into the interview room by a young female PC. But he had time to notice that she had very good legs. Out of uniform she'd be a stunner.

Once she'd left him he was kept waiting in that uncomfortable chair for what seemed like an age. But he supposed it was just another police tactic. Psychological warfare.

By the time DI Plantagenet entered the room, Zepper was starting to regret his decision. But Pet's little pink notebook sat there on the desk before him. If he played the cooperative citizen now, he'd be home and dry.

Plantagenet was with a young Asian woman, the sensible type but quite attractive. Zepper gave her a smile to establish a rapport. She didn't smile back.

The first thing the DI asked him was why he hadn't come forward sooner. He had his answer ready.

‘I only found it yesterday. She'd left it in my room at the Music Department and it must have got hidden under a load of papers.' There was no way he was going to admit that he'd found it a couple of days ago and hung on to it so that he could see what, if anything, she'd written about him.

‘Do you know what kissing the demons means?' the inspector asked as he finished flicking through the book.

‘Pet used the phrase from time to time. She said it was something her mother liked to do. I presume it means doing something dangerous . . . taking a risk. Or maybe doing something forbidden. Your guess is as good as mine.'

Joe nodded. Den Harvey had used the title for the computer file hiding his secret stash of porn, which certainly fitted Zepper's interpretation. Something risky. Something taboo.

‘A man called “The Great Chef” features quite a lot.' Zepper leaned back, more confident now the spotlight was focused elsewhere. ‘She thought he knew what had happened to her mother. In fact she suggests that he might even have killed her. Any idea who he is?'

The inspector didn't answer the question.

‘There's also “the landlord” – I presume that's Andy Cassidy.'

‘Any idea who “the slob” is?'

Zepper shook his head but Joe thought he knew the slob's identity. Cassidy had used the word to describe Den Harvey.

‘I presume you're “The Tutor”. Very flattering some of this . . . suggests she'd like to – how does she put it? – explore new possibilities. And she says she wants to lose what has become burdensome to her.' Joe looked Zepper in the eye. ‘Does that mean her virginity, do you think?'

Zepper nodded.

‘And she mentions someone called “Suit Man”. Says her mother might have gone to him before she disappeared. Know who he is?'

‘No, sorry.'

‘Cassidy thinks you killed his sister.'

‘There's no way I'd ever have harmed Grace.'

‘But she was under-age and you were sleeping with her. Did Cassidy find out? Is that why you killed her and got him locked up? And what about Pet? I bet she was a tease. I bet she drove you mad blowing hot and cold.'

Zepper felt a sudden pain in his chest. The room began to spin around and he heard blood rushing in his ear. He clutched at his shirt. It was too tight. Crushing him as he slid off the chair and landed heavily on the floor. Then he heard a loud alarm as the inspector hit the panic strip that ran around the walls.

Then he heard nothing more until a young nurse in intensive care asked him if he was comfortable.

‘Do you want the good news or the bad news?' Joe stood in the doorway of Emily's office.

‘Start with the bad news. I always like to get it out of the way.'

‘Zepper's had a suspected heart attack . . . when I was questioning him.'

‘Bloody hell. Hope he's not going to accuse you of police brutality. How is he?'

‘Don't know yet. They've taken him straight to hospital.' He paused. ‘Just when it was starting to look promising. He brought in a notebook belonging to Pet Ferribie – said he found it under some papers in his office, not that I believe that for a second. It's mostly notes she made about her mother's disappearance. I think Pet had a close relationship with Zepper . . . just like Grace Cassidy did.'

‘She was a virgin.'

‘So it was only a matter of time.'

‘He hasn't got much of an alibi. But did he kill Sharon Bell and Roni Jasper? And what about Anna Padowski?'

Joe shrugged. Somehow he wasn't convinced. Zepper might have seduced his fifteen-year-old student. He might even have killed her to shut her up when she threatened to tell her father what had been going on. Maybe Pet too was becoming a nuisance. But Joe couldn't really see him killing Sharon and Anna in cold blood. That would take a different sort of monster. A demon.