DS Jessica Daniel series: Locked In/Vigilante/The Woman in Black - Books 1-3 (72 page)

‘No.’

‘I didn’t contaminate it or anything, did I? It’s definitely right?’

‘I know how to do my job.’

‘Of course, I know. I didn’t mean that. You’re not going to get in trouble, are you?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘I’m so sorry, Adam.’

‘I’m sorry too.’

Jessica paused for a moment before continuing. ‘It’s just . . . I’ve fucked everything up. I didn’t know how to cope after Carrie died. There’s so much that’s
happened. I’ve not slept, I can’t eat. I thought I knew what I was doing but now I’m worried I was wrong all along.’

She felt a lump in her throat and struggled to finish her sentence. ‘I think . . . I might have had a breakdown or something.’

Jessica felt tears in her eyes but didn’t fight them. ‘Adam?’ She took the phone away from her ear and looked down at a blank screen.

He must have hung up after saying he was sorry but she hadn’t heard the noise.

Her car was stopped by the side of the road with the headlights still shining forwards. Vehicles squeezed around her as rain smashed onto the roof and windscreen. As the front wipers thundered
back and forth, squeaking their way across the glass, Jessica couldn’t hold back any longer and let the tears engulf her.

She realised there was so little rationality to what she had been doing. Most of what she thought she had on Farraday was circumstantial but there was still Carrie’s phone under her bed.
It was an object she could hold in her hands, found in a place that couldn’t be explained. Not being able to figure out why it was there was the thing really haunting her.

It took what seemed like hours for Jessica to calm herself but it was likely just minutes. Cars continued to manoeuvre around her, some tooting their horns, as the rain eased off slightly.
Jessica settled back into the driver’s seat and indicated to pull away.

She felt as lonely as she ever had on the journey back to her house.

Her relationship with Caroline hadn’t been the same for over a year, Carrie was gone and she had destroyed things with Adam. Her parents had recently retired from running a post office in
Cumbria but this wasn’t the type of thing she would ever share with them and she felt she had no one to talk to.

She drove much slower than she usually would, taking her time and forcing herself to concentrate on the road. It was almost dusk as she pulled into her parking space. She didn’t know if
she was going to go to Farraday’s house that evening any longer, thoughts swirling in her head about what she should do next. She switched the engine off and got out, slamming the door behind
her and walking to the entrance to her building. Jessica reached into her pockets to find her keys but her eyes were drawn to a movement over to her right. She stopped and squinted at the bushes
that surrounded that side of the property and thought she could see a figure.

Jessica stepped onto the grass towards them but, as soon as she did, whoever it was bolted backwards. The light was dim with the street lights just beginning to come on as the sun set but
something about the person’s build and the way they moved seemed familiar. Jessica started running after them without thinking, ignoring the pain she was still feeling in her ankle from
jumping over Farraday’s gate.

The figure had turned and run around the hedges and Jessica followed about thirty yards behind. They dashed towards the woodlands that backed onto her housing development and jumped a small
chain-link fence that separated the two areas. Wincing as she did the same, Jessica tried to avoid landing on her ankle but wasn’t able to manage it.

The rain had slowed to a light drizzle but the ground was soaking and her feet slid around the moss and overgrown grass. The person in front was struggling to keep their balance too and, after
first looking as if they were going to head towards the trees, veered back left towards the fence. They used one hand on the barrier to help keep their balance, moving as quickly as they could
along its length.

Jessica followed and knew she would usually be faster if it wasn’t for her ankle. She was also struggling to keep her grip because the path had already been churned up by the person ahead.
As she gained a few yards, Jessica knew for sure it was a man. He was around six feet tall and his height should have given it away in the first place but her mind wasn’t feeling sharp. A
mixture of the lack of sleep and minimal food was beginning to hurt. She tried shouting ‘hey’ but felt exhausted.

The man ahead kept to the fence line and then used both hands to propel himself back onto the other side, landing in a car park that served a block of flats next to where Jessica lived. As he
landed, Jessica watched him look around, not knowing where he was, before heading towards where she knew there was a dead end.

Jessica jumped the fence herself and landed awkwardly on her ankle, involuntarily yelling out in pain. She looked up and the man glanced backwards but the near-darkness meant she couldn’t
see his features clearly. She forced herself back to her feet and drove forwards following the person, knowing he could only run for another hundred yards or so before reaching an enclosed area
where the complex’s giant metal bins were kept. She stumbled forwards, letting his lead increase, and entered the wide alley behind him.

Slowing to a walk, Jessica moved further down the opening. There was an orange security light on the left but otherwise the area was dark. Jessica edged forwards looking from side to side but
then stepped backwards as the man took a pace out from the shadows of the trash containers.

The light wasn’t brilliant but there was no doubt about the identity of the person stood in front of her. ‘Good evening, Daniel.’

Jessica stared. When she had started chasing, she hadn’t been completely sure about who she was pursuing or why she was running but something instinctively told her to act. She realised
she had no plan, no weapon and, given the pain in her ankle, no way to turn and make a bolt for it. In a period of time defined by bad decisions, she had just run into a dead end and was now facing
the imposing figure of DCI Farraday towering over her.

‘What are you doing at my house?’ Jessica asked, trying to sound confident.

‘Is that really the question you want to ask me?’

He took another step forwards, his face now clearly lit. He was still dressed in his work clothes and it now seemed obvious why he had asked her to stay late – he was planning to search
her house the way he’d hunted around her office. She moved her weight from her sore leg to the other, desperately trying not to show she was in pain, and took a deep breath.

Jessica knew he was right, there was only one question she wanted to ask. ‘Why did you have Carrie’s phone?’

The chief inspector looked directly at her, his eyes narrow. ‘You really shouldn’t have gone looking for it.’

Jessica felt frozen to the spot, droplets of rain dribbling from her nose. She gave a slight shiver as Farraday took another step towards her. She felt ready for whatever was
going to happen, her mind tormented by everything that had occurred. As Jessica looked back up at her boss, she wasn’t prepared for the scene in front of her.

He had started to cry, his large frame bobbing up and down with each sob as he wiped his eyes. Jessica could see the small cut on his face where she had nicked him. It had largely healed but
there was still a slight red mark.

His voice was shaky as he tried to speak. ‘It’s not that you shouldn’t, I guess. I knew someone had found it but I didn’t know who it was. I wanted someone to come and
ask me about it but no one did and then I was stuck because I couldn’t admit where it had gone.’

Jessica didn’t understand what he was trying to say. He wiped his eyes and coughed loudly into his sleeve. ‘I don’t . . .’ Jessica started.

‘I thought it could have been you because you asked me about the phone records but then you never followed it up so I went back to not knowing what had happened. It could have been some
kid who’d broken in, though who knows why they’d go through my bins.’

‘Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

Farraday peered up at her, pushing his dripping hair away from his face. ‘Detective Constable Jones . . . Carrie . . . and I were having an affair, Daniel. When I got to the scene that
night, I didn’t know what to do. I was distraught but trying to stay professional, then I saw her shoes and bag on the pathway of her house. Her phone was on top and I realised that if anyone
started looking into things, it would all be found out. I know it was selfish but I love my wife and I didn’t want to lose my job. So I took it.’

Jessica stared at him. ‘You didn’t kill her?’

The man snorted in surprise, water spraying from his nose and mouth. ‘Is that what you thought?’

‘I . . . I don’t know. There were other things. I’ve not been sleeping.’

They looked straight at each other and Jessica saw the chief inspector’s head tilt to the side in the way she hated. He was about to ask if she was all right. ‘Can we go inside and
talk about this? It’s always bloody raining here and we’re both soaked,’ he said.

Jessica turned and started walking back through the maze of the estate where she lived, still not really understanding everything that had happened. It was no wonder Carrie wasn’t willing
to talk about her boyfriend if he was not only a married man but their boss too.

She led Farraday into her block and then walked up the stairs to her flat, unlocking the door and pointing the DCI towards her kitchen. ‘I’ll get us some towels,’ she said.

Jessica rarely used her own kitchen, except for warming up frozen meals in the microwave. It was always the coldest room in the flat and the dull light-blue walls made it feel worse. There was a
small cheap wood and plastic dining table with two low-backed stools around it. Jessica re-entered the room, handing a towel to Farraday, who started rubbing his head. As she dried her own face,
she thought her boss’s hair seemed greyer than it had done a few weeks ago.

‘I think I should start at the beginning,’ he said with a sigh. ‘When I arrived here, I tried to fit in but it was a bit of a shock for all of us. All the jokes were fine but
it was tough for me to try to play along and be one of the team while at the same time having to be everyone’s boss. Meanwhile my wife hadn’t enjoyed the move. I don’t really know
how it happened but, before I knew what was happening, Carrie and myself had started seeing each other a couple of times a week. Usually it was just hotel rooms but once or twice it would be her
house or mine.’

Jessica sat opposite him listening, letting the pieces fall into place in her head and realising how badly she had judged things. ‘She wanted me to leave my wife but . . . Have you ever
been in love, Dan . . . Jessica?’

She was slightly taken aback by the question and it must have showed on her face because her boss spoke again. ‘Sorry, that’s a really unfair question.’

Jessica cut in to answer it anyway. ‘I don’t know, Sir.’

‘Please, I think you should call me John for now.’

‘Okay.’

‘Well, if you ever thought being in love could be complicated, then having those feelings for two people is overwhelming, especially when you see one of them every day at work and the
other every morning and evening at home. I could feel it beginning to affect my work and tried to put an end to it with Carrie but it’s hard when you see each other all the time. We argued on
the afternoon she died. It was at the station, which was unprofessional.’

He picked up the towel again and Jessica wasn’t sure if he was using it to wipe away more of the rain or a few tears. The description of the argument at least explained why Rowlands had
seen them having a row.

‘What happened on the night she died?’ Jessica asked.

The chief inspector said nothing for a few moments, composing himself, and then spoke in a broken voice. ‘I got the call from the station that said one of our officers had been badly
injured. When they told me the name, I was straight out of the door. I got there and she was being taken away. The paramedics said they had to get her to the hospital to have any hope of her
surviving. I was going to follow them and it was then I noticed her things on the path. I saw the phone and took it without thinking. I know it was selfish, thinking about my own preservation, but
it wasn’t really a conscious decision.’

He took a deep breath before continuing. ‘Of course, once I had it, I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want to risk dumping it, just in case it was found, so buried it
in my own bin thinking it would be emptied and end up in a landfill where no one would find it. Then I came home that night and saw someone had gone through our rubbish and had no idea what to
think. I didn’t know if someone was on to me, or trying to frame me or what. So I waited but no one ever mentioned it. I saw someone running off my driveway that night but had no idea who it
was because it was so dark. They were hobbling but I looked around the station the next day just in case and everyone was walking normally. I didn’t know if it was someone I knew, or just a
person looking to rob us.’

Jessica gave a small laugh. ‘I think we were trying to be too clever for our own good. My ankle was killing me, it still is. But I’ve kept it strapped tight.’ She bent down and
took her shoe and sock off before lifting her foot up for her boss to see. The ankle was purple and yellow with bruising and the swelling had reappeared.

‘You thought I killed her?’ he said softly.

‘I thought you killed them all. I didn’t know what to think when I found that phone.’

‘But . . . how would I have even done that? With McKenna and all?’

‘I . . . don’t know. After we found his sister, I’d got it into my head you were his twin and one of you had changed your appearance or something. I’ve not been thinking
straight.’

‘Twin? I look nothing like him.’

‘I know . . . but I’d convinced myself. I even had you tested . . .’

Farraday reached up to his cheek where the small cut was still visible. ‘Oh . . .’