And Then She Came Back by Joshua Black

Author:Joshua Black [Black, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33: Derek

December 1982

Derek paced his bedroom. Yes, he’d got Pat to agree to lie for him, and he reckoned, when push came to shove, his mother would come around, but he’d made a mistake, an awful mistake. He said the argument that he and Miss Jones had had was about the sale, and whose it was. It was because he couldn’t face telling them that Miss Jones had put in a complaint about him, about him pinning her to the cupboards in the kitchenette. He couldn’t tell them that Mr Smith reckoned he’d be put up in front of a tribunal, her word against his. It sounded too bad. It was bad. But the police would know this; Mr Smith would have told them. He had to be honest with them, and then Pat and Mum would know; and they’d look at him all funny, and stutter over their answers, and that would cause alarm bells to ring.

He decided the best thing was to go tell them now, quickly, before the police arrived, tell them the truth about his contretemps with Miss Jones, get it out in the open. He paused at the bedroom door, but he couldn’t do it, couldn’t face it. He went to the window and, opening it, leaned out, breathing in the fresh air, or rather, the London air. Still felt fresh to him. He had to do it, he had to tell them. Better that it came from him than from the police. Right, he’d do it now.

He found Pat and his mother sitting in silence in the living room, the atmosphere heavy with awkwardness. He glanced at Daisy. He couldn’t leave her here, not with the coppers coming in; he’d have to move her; he couldn’t risk them asking what he fed her on. She wouldn’t like it but tough. He lugged her into the bedroom and placed her on the floor on the far side of the bed, so if anyone looked in from the door, they wouldn’t see the tank.

‘You OK?’ asked Pat. ‘Why are you–’

‘Apparently, you’re meant to move them every now and then.’

Pat shook her head. ‘I still can’t believe it – that she was a work colleague, that you saw her day after day, and now she’s dead, and some awful person strangled her. You must be so upset, Derek.’

It hit him that he’d hadn't been looking or sounding particularly upset, and that might come across as rather strange. ‘Yeah, it hasn’t hit home yet. I think it must be the shock, you know?’

‘Yes, of course. You poor love.’

‘It’ll probably hit me later.’

‘Yes.’

He took a deep breath, glancing at his mother’s pinched expression. ‘Actually, there is something I need to tell you, something else.’

Pat looked up at him, the concern written on her face. ‘What is it, love?’

He opened his mouth to speak just at the point he heard a knock on the door.

The two plain clothed police officers sat awkwardly together in Derek’s living room, making the room feel rather cramped, their notebooks at hand.

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