Deadly Secrets (Detective Erika Foster #6)(86)

‘But you caught Taro Williams.’

Moss shook her head. ‘I feel like I just blundered into it. And then nearly got myself killed in the process.’

‘But you didn’t,’ said Erika. ‘And he would have carried on attacking people, and now he’s off the streets.’

‘Off the streets, and still refusing to talk.’

‘That’s nothing new. He can talk or he can keep his mouth shut. Either way, we’ve got DNA.’

‘You’re a poet, and you don’t even know it.’

Erika grinned. ‘As I said. You did a great job.’

Moss waved it away, her cheeks flushing again. ‘Enough about me. How were things up north?’

‘Edward is doing good. For so many years he’s been the responsible adult, and me the youngster. It made me aware of how old I am, now I’m caring for him.’

‘You’re not old! What’s the saying? You’re only as old as the man or woman you feel.’

‘There’s nothing happening in that department, unless I count the old geezer in Sainsbury’s who rubbed up against me at the till.’

Moss grinned. ‘Good to have you back, Erika.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling in return. ‘It’s good to be back. Now, onwards and upwards. Let’s hope today gives us a breakthrough.’

Erika indicated and they turned into Coniston Road, and drove towards Mandy Trent’s house.



* * *



They parked a few doors down from Mandy’s house. The snow was long melted, and it was break time at the school opposite. The playground was full of kids, their loud playing and chatter filling the street. Erika and Moss got out of the car, and joined a small team of four forensic height analysts who were setting up their equipment outside the front gate of the house. Half of the playground opposite had been cordoned off, giving a clear view to conduct the test using the CCTV camera mounted on the wall at the end of the school building. One of the guys was positioning an oblong of plastic, like a giant ruler, next to the gate post outside the house. It reached up to two metres tall, and 5 cm increments were marked out on it with red lines. Another woman was unpacking a tripod and camera, and setting it up at the same height and angle further along the pavement towards the top of Coniston Road. Some of the more curious children who weren’t running around and playing were lined up at the railings, watching.

Erika and Moss introduced themselves to the team, and then went through the front gate. The hedge had been chopped down, leaving just the low wall surrounding the tiny garden, which without snow was just a patch of flattened earth. Marissa’s mother, Mandy, was also watching the proceedings from her front doorstep. She was dishevelled, and smoking a cigarette. They said hello, and asked how she was doing. She said she was making the preparations for Marissa’s funeral, which would be taking place in a few days.

‘I want to have ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ play, cos I loved singing that hymn when I was at school,’ she said, sucking on the butt of her cigarette. ‘Do you think that’s nice?’

‘Yes, I love that hymn,’ said Moss.

‘And with all the flowers. I’m gonna have lilies. Marissa liked lilies. Joan’s ex-husband runs the florist down in Honor Oak Park… He’s gonna do me a good deal, get some nice ones which are open. I hate lilies on bunches when they’re closed,’ she said. ‘I went to Joseph Pitkin’s funeral the other day, I sat at the back, mind. They got lilies for the top of his coffin, and they was all closed up. It was a burial, and all I could think was that they would never open, what with the cold weather we’ve been having. They would just die, before they had the chance to bloom… And then it made me think of Marissa. She was killed before she got the chance to bloom. What do you call it?’

A look passed between Erika and Moss,

‘It was a tragedy,’ said Erika.

‘No,’ said Mandy, impatiently flicking the cigarette butt into the hedge. ‘It’s what you call it? A metaphor. The lily not opening, that’s a metaphor for Marissa, and for Joseph.’

Erika and Moss nodded in agreement.

‘So why are you all measuring my gatepost?’ she added.

‘It’s for the CCTV evidence. Standard procedure. It helps give us more detail in court.’

‘Does it matter that I had the hedge cut down? I just didn’t feel safe with it there. There’s nowhere for anyone to hide.’

‘It’s fine,’ said Erika. They could now see up and down the street, and Don Walpole emerged from his front door with a bag of rubbish. He noticed them, and nodded his head, and then went back indoors. Mandy lit another cigarette.

‘Jeanette’s home from hospital. They put an implant in her stomach, to stop her drinking. One sip of anything alcoholic and she pukes it back up… I just hope he’s stocked up on carpet cleaner.’

‘Have you packed away any of Marissa’s belongings yet?’ asked Erika.

‘No. I can’t bring myself to do it. Not until she’s buried. Joan’s good with cleaning; she said she’d come and help me, we can work out what to keep and what to give to charity. A lot of her costumes can go on eBay,’ said Mandy.

‘You take your time, there’s never any rush with these things.’