BLOOD SECRETS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense (10 page)

Swift felt a tingle of interest. ‘Okay, I can agree to that.’

‘Sometimes, Teddy liked to put on one of my dresses or skirts and tops. He preferred a dress. He just liked to sit in it while we talked. It started as a joke when we were miming to Madonna, but I could see it meant something to him. Then, as time went on, it was the first thing he did when we got to my house. He’d say he was my sister, Edwina. I didn’t know what to make of it back then. With hindsight, I’m sure it meant he was interested in transvestism or maybe confused about his sexuality. I was reading an article recently about people who describe themselves as “gender neutral,” and what they were saying rang bells about Teddy. I’d let him go through my wardrobe and choose something. There wasn’t that much to choose from and it was drab stuff, all dark colours and plain styles. The Select Flock didn’t allow vanities. But Teddy looked really good in my dowdy dresses. He was so slim and fine boned, they were a nice fit.’ She laughed warmly at the memory.

Swift regarded this kindly, thoughtful woman. He could see why Teddy had trusted her. She was the first person who had talked about him laughing and having fun. The shadowy, diffident character had a different, more substantial aspect now.

‘It was good that he had you in his life, I think. You provided a safety valve for him.’

‘Well . . . I hope so. He certainly helped me survive my upbringing. He was a good person. I missed him after he was injured. Life seemed very dull.’

‘From what you’ve told me, I’m presuming that back in 2000 you didn’t tell the police about Teddy’s liking for dressing in your clothes.’

‘No. I did wonder at the time if I should, but the detective who spoke to me was arrogant and patronising, a real macho man — heavy aftershave and big ego. He eyed me up and down in that way some men have, as if they’re picturing you naked. I disliked him and I thought he would make fun of Teddy so I kept quiet. That was why I kept quiet about the other thing I knew as well.’

‘Go on.’

She gathered biscuit crumbs from the table and tipped them on to a plate.

‘Teddy’s family was like ours in that they had no computers or mobile phones. Teddy used to go to an Internet Café in Fitzrovia a couple of times a week, when Sheila was on a shift at the hospital. I think it was one of the first in London. He swore me to secrecy about it. He told me he wanted to look up information about people who felt like him, men who wanted to put women’s clothes on. He said once that he was talking to some people on the web about it. He was thrilled to find boys his age he could discuss it with. I knew nothing about the Internet back then. I didn’t understand how he could do that.’

Swift let out a breath. ‘That could be very important information, Judith. It may be that he got involved with someone who was pretending to be like him but who wanted to harm him.’

She looked sober, nodding. ‘I realise that now. Back then, I had no idea and I wanted to protect Teddy from that detective. I imagined people talking about him, the boys at school ridiculing him, as he was lying in intensive care, more dead than alive. Do you think if I’d said it at the time, the police might have caught the person who attacked Teddy?’

‘It’s hard to say. If he did come to harm through Internet chat, the police might have looked at the computers in that café. Although fifteen years ago I’m not sure they’d have had that kind of handle on the technology or been able to trace anyone.’ He thought of Peterson and it seemed unlikely.

‘Hindsight is painful sometimes.’

‘I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. It’s helpful that you’ve told me now. When did he start going to the Internet café?’

‘I’m not sure. I think it was sometime in 1999. Teddy had seen a newspaper article about it. Will you have to tell people now, about Teddy’s interests?’

‘Not necessarily. I’ll only do that if I have to in order to identify his attacker, and I’ll inform you.’

She looked relieved. ‘Okay.’

‘Did Teddy seem depressed to you that summer or say anything that indicated he was considering running away or harming himself?’

‘No. As I said, he was often a bit melancholy. I think he was a bit quieter than usual around that time. He did say that Sheila was really getting him down, but then he often made that kind of comment about her. I thought everything had got too much for him at home. Since Mr Harrow contacted me, I’ve been thinking about Teddy a lot.’

They sat in silence for a moment. Swift touched the soft foot of some baby leggings on the table.

‘Do you know if there were any births in Teddy’s family? Did he mention new cousins, anything like that?’

‘Not that I can recall. Why?’

‘I just wondered. Why would someone keep a brand new baby cardigan tucked away?’

Judith tapped the table, beating out a soft rhythm.

‘A gift never given? The person it was intended for had a miscarriage or stillbirth? It was forgotten about?’ She smiled. ‘A friend of mine crocheted a blanket but it’s huge and a bit heavy. Samuel can have it when he’s a toddler. I’ve put it in a drawer and I can imagine I might forget about it — although knowing my friend, she’ll remind me!’

Swift left as Samuel started to wake, nuzzling at his mother’s neck. He parked near the Quayside by Magdalene Bridge and walked along the river towards Midsummer Common. He passed a row of houseboats. A few of the owners were cleaning windows, seeing to plants, carrying out routine maintenance. He turned over this new information about Teddy, not sure what he could do with it. Checking Google, he saw that the Internet café used by Teddy had been called Cyberia and no longer existed. Teddy had been a confused adolescent exploring his sexual identity. His vulnerability was almost tangible, even across this time and distance.

Swift rang Tim Christie and asked if he could remember any births in the family or amongst people they knew. Christie sounded puzzled and said he couldn’t recall any babies being born or being brought to the house. He sounded half asleep, as if the call had woken him up, although it was midday.

‘By the way,’ he mumbled, ‘tell Sheila to leave me alone when you see her.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘She’s been emailing, wanting to know if you’d been in touch and what you asked me. I ignored it, so she sent another message. I don’t want anything to do with her or my father, so tell her.’

‘I don’t want to carry messages around your family, Tim. You’ll have to reply and tell her yourself.’

Christie became excitable, stuttering his words in a rush. ‘I wish you’d never got in touch about this. I’d got her out of my life and now she’s back in and that bastard with her. I’ve been having bad dreams. Last night I found myself in the street in the early hours. I must have been walking in my sleep. I haven’t done that for years. I have this dream that something’s squeezing me and I can’t breathe. My face is covered. I wake in a panic. Oh God! After all this time.’

‘Tim, take a breath. Have you ever had any counselling about your childhood?’

‘What, you mean a shrink or something?’

‘A therapist, someone to talk it through with.’

‘Nah. What’s the point?’

‘It might help you. I think you use drugs to ease the pain and if you talked to someone, a professional counsellor, you might not need to.’

Christie started screaming. ‘Fuck off and mind your own business! I don’t want to hear from you ever again. Fuck right out of my life and take those fucking bastards with you, ok?’

He rang off. Swift walked on for another fifteen minutes, raising his face to the late autumn sun, reflecting on the pain in Christie’s voice, trying to ignore the pain in his mouth.

* * *

Swift called in to the health centre and was told that he was lucky, the practice nurse had had a cancellation. She looked at the knife cut, told him off for not going to A & E immediately and advised him that he had just got away with not needing stitches. She put a dressing on his arm, asking how it had happened and he explained it had been an accident. She nodded, clearly not believing him. She told him to come back if there was any sign of infection and gave him instructions on keeping the wound clean.

He stocked up with painkillers and some more dressings at a chemist, then made for home. He was opening the front door when a car pulled up and Sheila got out, waving. She was wearing her nursing uniform and a dark blue raincoat.

‘Hi! I just thought I’d call by, see if you’d made any progress. That’s a nasty looking lip.’

She came up to him, too close, wheezing in his face. Her breath smelled of eucalyptus. He didn’t want to invite her into his home, so he indicated the basement.

‘I had an accident. Come down to my office.’

She thumped down after him as he unlocked the door. He invited her to sit.

‘This is nice,’ she said. ‘Handy for you, too.’

‘Yes.’ He sat behind his desk. ‘If you wanted to know about progress, you could have rung. Hammersmith is quite a journey for you.’

‘I was at a conference in Fulham today so I thought I’d call by on the off-chance.’

He thought she was lying. Her eyes were shifty. Looking at her, he knew he wouldn’t want her touching his skin, cleaning a wound. There were epaulettes on the shoulders of her coat and he thought of
the Generalissima
and Tim referring to her as Stalin.

‘I have nothing particular to report. If I had, I would have called your father. Does he know you’re here?’

She pulled her coat around her. ‘No. I’ll tell him when I get home. So, who have you talked to?’

‘The police, Teddy’s head teacher, your aunt, your brother and a friend of Teddy’s.’

‘Is that all?’

‘That’s all. You know, given that you didn’t think it was a good idea for your father to instigate this enquiry, you seem very keen to know about it.’

She picked at a nail. ‘I just think I need to look out for him. Who’s the friend you talked to?’

‘Judith Saltby.’

Her brow furrowed. ‘I don’t see that she could tell you much.’

‘No? Of course, you’ve already asked your brother what I talked to him about. He’s pretty upset about you emailing him. I think you should back off.’

She bridled. ‘I don’t see why I can’t contact my own brother if I want to. It’s not for you to say.’

‘No, but it is for him to say. I told him to let you know himself, but I think you must be aware that he wants to avoid contact with you and his father.’

‘He’s just troubled. He was always highly strung. I said to Dad that opening up this can of worms would do no good but he wouldn’t listen.’

‘Well, that’s between you and your father. By the way, you forgot to tell me about the twenty thousand pounds someone donated to Mayfields for Teddy.’

She looked genuinely blank. ‘Oh, that. I didn’t think of that. It seemed peculiar.’

‘It is, and it could also be important. Let me know if you remember anything else I should know. I do need to get on so if you’ll excuse me . . .’

He got up, forcing her to rise too and opened the office door. She stopped halfway through.

‘So what did Judith Saltby have to say?’

‘Not a great deal.’

‘You don’t seem to be getting very far.’

‘These things take time.’

He gestured for her to go ahead. She moved reluctantly and he waited until she was walking to her car.

‘Oh, Ms Bartlett, just one question. Were there ever any births in your extended family or in friends’ families when you were young? Did any babies visit your house?’

She stopped and turned slowly. Colour drained from her face, then rushed back in a fiery blush.

‘Babies? No. What an odd question. Why are you asking me that?’

He wasn’t sure what he could see in her eyes. Anger and confusion, certainly, but maybe fear as well.

‘Oh, just something that was said. Detectives come up with all kinds of random questions you know.’ He stepped towards her. ‘Sheila, why do I get the impression that you’re hiding something?’

‘I don’t know what you mean. What would I have to hide?’

He shrugged. ‘I have an idea that you’re concerned that my investigation might throw light on something else, something you wouldn’t want revealed.’

She tightened the belt on her coat. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous. I can’t waste any more time on this nonsense.’

He stood watching as she walked slowly to her car. She sat inside, her head down. Then she reached into her bag and took out a large pastry, which she rapidly consumed, stuffing it into her mouth. After she had driven away Swift tidied the mess Howell had made in the living room, amazed that nothing was too damaged, just one wonky chair leg. Sheila was worried about his questions, that much was clear, and the mention of babies had thrown her.

When he had finished clearing up, he sat with his notes, sifting through the information. There were dots but so far, none of them joined up.

* * *

Kris’s flat in Kennington was at the top of a three-storey house. It was small with a living room, kitchen, one bedroom and a shower room but dormer windows made it bright and airy. Swift visited her after his dental appointment. The dentist had applied a temporary cover to his chipped tooth and said it would need a crown. The poking and prodding had been painful because of the bruising to his jaw. He had told Kris that he’d had a burglar and that he had an interesting bruise on his face. He was glad that she didn’t make a fuss when he arrived.