Night Watcher (22 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

‘She’s upset,’ Sue said. ‘Somebody’s playing tricks on her. I don’t like it.’

‘You’re sure about that, are you?’ Bill turned a chair round and straddled it. They had returned to the conference room to compare notes.

Sue perched on a chair after pulling it round to face him. ‘Yes I’m sure. But what about you?’

Bill traced his finger along the top of the chair-back. ‘What I think? I think she’s doing it herself.’

‘Why would she do that?’

‘To attract her husband’s attention – maybe to get him to return from France.’

Sue snorted, ‘You’re like all men, think a woman just wants a man to look after her.’

‘Well, they’re not all like you, Sue love.’ Bill smirked. ‘A rampant feminist if I ever saw one. I do believe you’d abolish men if you could.’

‘That doesn’t warrant an answer,’ she snapped. ‘Anyway I don’t see our Mrs Ralston as a poor, defenceless woman just waiting for some man’s attention. She wouldn’t have got where she was in her career if that had been the case. No, someone’s definitely trying to frighten her, but what I don’t like about it is all these dead animals. It indicates a sick mind.’

‘Yes. And the sick mind’s probably hers. But I suppose we’d better carry on with the investigation just on the off chance you’re right. So, who are we going to see next?’

‘I want to interview this Harry. See if there’s anything in her suspicions.’ Sue pushed herself out of her chair.

‘And I want to see Julie. She seems to confide in her. She might have some ideas.’

Sue smiled mischievously, ‘You can ask Evelyn to set it up. She seems to have taken a shine to you.’

***

Julie was sorting through last month’s invoices when the telephone summons came. ‘I’ll see them down here,’ she said. ‘I’m busy and it’ll save me wasting too much time.’

‘Sorry, Julie. They want you up here. They’ve commandeered the conference room for their interviews.’ The phone line was so clear Evelyn might have been standing at Julie’s elbow.

‘Oh, all right. But it’s a nuisance. Tell them I’ll be there in five minutes.’

‘Before you hang up, Julie. I’ve been trying to raise Harry and I can’t find him. They want to see him as well.’

‘I’m not surprised you can’t find him. Mrs Ralston sent him home about a couple of hours ago.’ Julie hung the phone up before Evelyn could ask any questions.

Julie started to shuffle the invoices into one neat pile. Thank goodness she would not have to do this much longer. She ached for her old life in Edinburgh, and it was time she laid Dave to rest. There was a limit to how much mourning she could do, and at the end of the day he did not really deserve her tears, not after what he had done to her. Not after he had betrayed her with Nicole. Anger flared briefly making her grit her teeth, but the anger was not as red hot as it had previously been. Maybe she was getting over him at last.

She stood, smoothed her skirt, put her jacket on and combed her dark-brown hair, although with the short, sleek style she had adopted, there was rarely a time when it was untidy. She was feeling better already, more like her old self before she came to Dundee.

There were two people in the conference room. The first a young woman, tall with short reddish-brown hair and eyes that seemed to smile all the time, nodded a greeting to her. ‘You’ll be Julie,’ she smiled as she held out her hand. ‘I’m Sue Rogers, we just wanted to ask you a few questions.’

It was the second person who jolted Julie out of her feel good state of mind. It was the man from the pub who had rescued her from that weasel of a guy chatting her up last night. The man she had snubbed. Her memories of that night were so vague she had not thought she would know him again. But she recognized him instantly. She could also tell that he remembered her. It was in his eyes and the way he moved towards her and pulled out a chair for her.

Sue had a slightly bemused look on her face. ‘D’you want me to carry on with the questions, Bill? Or would you prefer to do it yourself?’

‘No, no. You carry on.’ Bill perched on the edge of the conference table keeping one foot on the ground. He was so near to her that their feet were almost touching.

Julie looked away from him not sure how to react in this situation. Maybe he was annoyed because she had snubbed him and now, the way things were, she could not tell him she had regretted it almost immediately. He had been nice to her, but her anger about Dave had got in the way. A breath of a sigh escaped her lips, just another lost chance among so many lost chances.

‘I understand that you are Nicole Ralston’s friend.’

Julie had forgotten about Sue, but she looked at her now as she answered. ‘I suppose you could say that, although we don’t meet socially.’

‘It’s a work relationship then.’

‘Yes, you could say that.’ The palms of Julie’s hands were damp, but she resisted the urge to wipe them. She could not tell these people the truth, because if they knew how much she hated Nicole they might think she was responsible for her harassment.

‘These incidents,’ Sue paused, ‘of dead birds and rodents being left where Mrs Ralston can find them. What can you tell us about that?’

‘I’m afraid I only know what Nicole has told me. I haven’t seen anything myself.’ Julie hated herself for allowing a note of scepticism to creep into her voice.

Sue seemed to be weighing her up. ‘Mrs Ralston thinks she is being stalked. What do you think?’

Julie hesitated. ‘I’m not sure. Her husband thought she was paranoid and to begin with I thought the same, but now I’m not so sure.’

Sue waited until the silence became unbearable to Julie. ‘I did think to begin with that her husband might be having her watched . . . because of her thing with Ken Moody.’

‘Thing with Ken Moody?’ Sue exchanged a glance with Bill.

‘Yes, they’re having an affair.’ Julie squirmed in her seat. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say.’ She twisted her hands together and a look of misery passed fleetingly over her face. However, she was not too concerned for there was still a part of her that enjoyed scheming against Nicole.

***

Nicole paced up and down her office. She had never been any good at doing nothing. She had always needed to keep busy, but now, she could not settle to do any work and did not know what to do. The office was not the same either. It had this faint aura of menace even though Freddie was no longer there. But she supposed that was part of it.

She was fragmenting, like the pieces in a broken mirror. She could not think straight and her thoughts were jumbled. Who removed the bird? And why? Maybe it was someone trying to discredit her. But why would they want to do that? She did not know and could not figure it out. Whatever they were up to was working though. That policeman as good as said she had removed Freddie herself. She stopped her pacing to kick the waste paper bin. It clanked across the room until it struck the wall. It should have made her feel better, but didn’t.

Maybe she should just go home. But what was waiting for her there? More dead animals? She slumped on to the leather sofa and put her head in her hands, tearing at her hair and moaning. After a time she sat up. This won’t do, she thought. I’m not going to let this bastard get the better of me. She crossed the room to the drinks cabinet and poured herself a large shot of whisky which she gulped faster than she should have, choking and gagging as it burned her gullet.

She combed her hair, powdered her face and reddened her lips, before she went in search of Ken. I’ll find him, she vowed, even if I have to hunt him down at his house. It was easier than that though, because as she walked along the corridor she met him coming out of his office.

‘I need to speak to you,’ she said.

Ken started, ‘I’m just going in to see the police. It’ll have to wait.’

‘Fine,’ she said. ‘I’ll wait.’

She settled herself in his office, but left the door open so that she would hear him leaving the conference room. She did not have to wait long.

‘Who told them about us?’ Ken demanded, after he left the conference room. He sounded annoyed.

‘I don’t know,’ Nicole replied. ‘But anyway it won’t be long before everyone knows.’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘Well, I thought we’d agreed you were going to leave Claire. I’ve already arranged to change the locks so Scott can’t get back in. We’ve burnt our boats, my love.’

Ken fidgeted with his tie and tugged at his collar.

‘You haven’t told her yet. Have you?’ Nicole glared at him. ‘What a coward you are.’

‘I need more time,’ Ken mumbled.

‘Tell her tonight. If you don’t I will,’ Nicole snapped. The expression on her face softened. ‘Anyway I need you to be with me tonight. I don’t want to be in the house on my own, not with all this going on.’

‘I don’t know if I can manage,’ Ken faltered. ‘If I’m to tell Claire tonight she might be upset.’

‘Oh, fuck Claire,’ Nicole snapped. ‘I’m tired of hearing about Claire. It’s Claire this, and Claire that, and we mustn’t upset poor Claire. What about me? I’m being threatened and stalked and nobody gives a damn.’ Her voice faltered, ‘I need you tonight. Don’t fail me.’ She laid a key ring, with a square button pad attached to it, on the table. ‘That’s a spare control pad for the gates. I’ll see you tonight.’

***

Julie returned to her office, but could not concentrate on the invoices. She kept thinking about Bill Murphy, the way he had looked at her, the way his eyes seemed to bore into her and the tone of his voice when he spoke. It was a long time since she had thought about any man and she could not understand why he was affecting her the way he did. It was no use thinking about him though, not now he was investigating Nicole’s stalker. Julie realized, with a start, that she was now taking Nicole’s fears seriously.

She did not hear Nicole enter her office, but when she looked up, there she stood, wraithlike and pale, with shoulders slumped and a look on her face that was nearing desperation. Julie’s emotions flipped, first one way then the other and she was not sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? This was what she had aimed for, the destruction of Nicole. Well there could be no doubts left that Nicole had been brought down, her self-esteem hammered into the ground, her confidence shattered.

‘Nicole,’ she said, meaning to tell her she intended to leave Drake’s and return to Edinburgh, before she started to feel pity for the woman.

‘Come home with me,’ Nicole whispered. Her eyes seemed larger than normal. ‘I’m afraid.’

Julie combed her fingers through her hair. No, this was too much. Maybe she was suffering from remorse because the revenge she had planned had spiralled out of control. Things had happened for which she had no explanation, but she had fed into them, increasing the emotional impact on Nicole. So she was as much to blame as anyone for Nicole’s state of mind. But she could never be a friend to this woman. So, although it would have been the easiest thing in the world for her to say yes, she closed her eyes and said, ‘I can’t. There’s something else I have to do tonight.’ She kept her eyes averted, unable to look at Nicole because she was so sure her lie would be patently obvious.

‘Oh.’ Nicole’s voice was like a breath of air that had somehow escaped.

Julie opened her eyes and looked at her, but Nicole was already turning away. There was a defeated, helpless air about the woman. It showed in her posture and the look on her face. Julie almost changed her mind. She rose from her chair and extended an arm towards Nicole. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said and sat down again, feeling as miserable as the other woman looked.

After Nicole left, Julie sat for a long time just staring at the wall, not seeing or taking anything in. She did not even register that Nicole had left her briefcase resting against the end of her desk.

***

Bill tucked his notebook into his pocket. ‘Well, we’ve seen everyone we can see today. There’s only the security man to interview and we can catch him tomorrow. Pity he left early.’

Sue had a faraway look on her face. ‘D’you think she’s in any danger?’

‘Who? Mrs Ralston? I’d be more likely to think that once she finds out who’s doing this, they’ll need protection from her.’

‘It’s not normal, you know, dead animals. Most people won’t harm animals. It’s the batter the kids before harming the dog syndrome.’

‘I know what you mean, but I’m not totally convinced that Mrs Ralston’s as upset as she makes out to be.’

Sue studied him. ‘You still think she’s doing this herself?’

‘Let’s say I’m not convinced there’s anyone else involved.’ Bill smiled. ‘It seems to me she’s one tricky lady.’ He levered himself out of the chair and rubbed his legs. ‘God, I’m stiff. I think I’ll walk back. You can take the car and I’ll meet you there.’

‘If you’d sit in a chair in the same way everyone else does you wouldn’t get stiff.’ Sue’s eyes narrowed. ‘This wouldn’t be about that rather attractive witness we interviewed, would it? What’s her name again? Ah yes, Julie. Anyone with half a brain could guess she’s the same Julie you’ve been rabbiting on about all day.’

‘As if.’ Bill grinned at her. ‘See you back at the station, Sue, my love.’

He escaped out of the conference room door, leaving Sue to tie up any loose ends. ‘I’m off,’ he said, popping his head into the main office. ‘But before I go I’d like another quick word with Miss Forbes. Where can I find her?’