Deadly Secrets (Detective Erika Foster #6)(31)

Erika only noticed an old lady step off the pavement at the last minute and had to slam on the brakes, throwing them both forward. The car came to a screeching halt, less than a foot from the old lady, who, unfazed, continued to push her battered old shopping bag across the road. She had long grey hair, and for a moment Erika’s heart quickened, thinking it was Elspeth Pitkin, but when the old lady turned she saw she was much older, with the compressed mouth of someone with no teeth.

‘Jeez that was close,’ said Moss.

The old lady reached the pavement on the other side, and stepped up. For a moment Erika saw Joseph, lying in his cell, the noose tight around his neck. His face waxy and swollen. There was a honk from behind.

‘You okay?’

Erika nodded. They pulled into the car park of the Brockley Jack. At just after 10 a.m. it was empty, apart from a couple of cars.



* * *



It was quiet and warm inside the pub, apart from an old man sat up at the bar, watching the TV with a pint on the go. A large young girl sat tucked away in a corner booth. She waved, and they went over.

‘Hi. I’m Sharon-Louise, but you can call me Sharon,’ she said, getting up and shaking hands with them. She had long, sleek honey-blonde hair with streaks of pink, and wore a wraparound dress with a flower pattern. Her face was round and wide, and she wore a pair of small, round glasses. She had an orange juice on the table.

‘You alright for a drink?’ asked Moss.

‘Yeah. I could murder some crisps… I don’t mean… Oh shit, not murder.’

‘It’s okay,’ said Moss. ‘What flavour?’

‘Tomato sauce or prawn cocktail,’ she said. Erika asked for a juice and Moss went off.

‘I didn’t sleep last night, after hearing about Marissa.’ Sharon took out a tissue and lifted up her glasses, dabbing delicately at her eyes.

Erika took the chair opposite. Moss returned a few minutes later with orange juices and crisps, and took the seat next to Sharon.

‘Who told you about Marissa?’ asked Erika.

‘My mum got a phone call from someone she knows on Coniston Road… It’s bad enough that I had to say goodbye to her, but I thought I’d see her again one day…’

She broke down, pulling out a scruffy ball of used tissue, lifting her huge glasses again to dab at her eyes.

‘Sorry. It’s just too much to believe… And look, everything is going on as normal. The Christmas decorations are still up, happy music is playing. Makes you think that no one cares… But that’s life.’

‘Why did you have to say goodbye to Marissa?’

Sharon reached forward and tore open the packet of crisps, spreading it out between them so they could share.

‘She was going off to America.’

Erika and Moss exchanged a glance.

‘When?’

‘Tomorrow, it was supposed to be.’ Her eyes welled up again and she pulled out the tissue.

‘Where in America?’ asked Moss.

‘New York.’

‘Why?’

‘She was sick of it here. The weather. The way things work. “I’ll always be scum,” she used to say. She thought the odds stacked against her, not going to the right school or having money. She had dreams of being the next Dita Von Teese, and the burlesque scene in New York is huge. There’s more opportunity in America. Hard work can actually get you somewhere over there. She wanted a new start.’

‘Did she have a work permit?’ asked Erika.

‘No, she got a six-month tourist visa. Obviously, she was planning to work there, but gigs are often cash in hand. And she had Ivan.’

‘Ivan Stowalski?’

Sharon nodded.

‘What was Ivan going to do?’

‘He was going with her. He works in pharmaceuticals, and he’d got a job out there.’

‘This is the same Ivan Stowalski who’s married and lives in Coniston Road?’ asked Moss.

‘Their marriage was over years ago. Ezra was living a separate life from him.’

‘Did Ezra know?’

‘He’d managed to keep a lot of it from her, according to Marissa. He’s a bit wet. Spineless. I don’t know how he holds down such a well-paid job managing loads of people, because in his personal life he’s hopeless. They drove up north, late on Christmas Eve, to see Ezra’s parents who now live in the UK. According to Marissa, he was going to tell Ezra when he was there, and then drive back… Well, today.’

Erika frowned.

‘I know. Fucked up, isn’t it?’

‘How long was Marissa involved with Ivan?’

‘A year. He’d been paying for lots of stuff for her: costumes, props. A lot of money. He got quite obsessed with her, and was needy.’

‘How was he needy and obsessed?’ asked Erika.

‘He got very jealous about her doing her act. He always wanted to know if any blokes had spoken to her after the shows, and he would go and see her often, and sit on the front row, policing her show… Marissa was going to bin him, and then he told her about the New York thing and she saw it as an opportunity. He paid for everything.’

‘What did her mother think?’ asked Erika.

‘Mandy. I don’t know if Marissa even told her. They really don’t get on. Didn’t. Mandy’s a mess. She’s never had a proper job, and when Marissa was little she was always shacking up with random guys, getting drunk and doing drugs. Marissa had a pretty horrible childhood. She was taken into care twice, when she was ten and then twelve.’