I've Been Watching You: a stunning crime thriller from The North East Police Series (20 page)

Ruefully, he acknowledged the time and changed his train of thought. Within seconds he was soft, ready to leave the dark comfort of his computer room and head off to the day job. He quite enjoyed it really, had been doing it for some time in one form or another. Despite having access to all the money he could possibly want, sometimes it was nice to go and earn it for himself. This was one of those days. He grabbed his large black bag on his way past the living room, and threw his jacket inside.

Today is a good day.

12th June, 1935 hours – O’Byrne residence, Sunderland

‘Mummy, you know the man who was here the other night? When can I meet him properly? You said I could.’ Grace was lying in bed, propped up on her elbows staring at Ben.

Ben felt a rush of love – she knew every parent thought their child was special but hers really was. Even at just four, Grace was old beyond her years. She listened intently and picked things up from conversations that a lot of adults would miss.

‘Soon. His sister TJ is poorly in hospital, remember? So he’s probably going to be busy looking after her. And she needs him, doesn’t she? There’ll be plenty of time for you to meet him later. Do you think I should finish the story now?’

‘Is TJ being a big girl? Like when I fell over and scraped my hand the other day. I didn’t cry did I, Mammy? You said I was a big girl. Is TJ being big too and not crying?’

Ben sighed a little and put the book down. Grace was plainly too awake to go to sleep yet. Smiling at her daughter, she said, ‘Come give mammy a cuddle, we’ll sit on the chair and chat for ten more minutes but then it’s bed time, OK?’

Grace flashed her the biggest smile and clambered out of bed and into Ben’s waiting arms. She wiggled for a moment getting comfortable, and rested her head on her mum’s shoulder.

Ben planted a kiss on her forehead, ‘You, young lady, are spoilt rotten. Now, you asked about TJ. I’m sure TJ is being a big girl and not crying, just like you were when you fell down. Next question.’

‘Where’s my daddy?’

Ben froze in shock. Grace had never once asked about her father – where was this coming from? Hell, where was it going?

‘You were brought to Mammy by the angels as a special gift. I was very sad, you see, and you were brought to help me smile again. Your Daddy wasn’t from Sunderland, he was from very far away, and he left before I could tell him you were here. I didn’t know where he went so I couldn’t let him know.’

‘You were lost, Mammy.’ Grace’s voice was very solemn as she said the words, so very grown up, and for a second Ben thought her heart might actually crack in two. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.

‘Jacob is lost too. But we’ll show him the way home won’t we, Mammy?’

‘Jacob’s not lost, sweetheart. He’s at the hospital with his sister, remember? He knows his way home.’

‘No, he’s lost. But we’ll help him,’ said Grace softly, snuggling further into Ben’s shoulder.

Ben looked down and saw Grace’s eyelids flutter softly. She was finally getting tired. Content though, Ben set the chair rocking back and forth. She’d put her to bed in a minute. She sat contemplating Grace’s words.
Was Jacob lost? Has my little girl picked up on something so deep that most adults would miss it? Or was it just an innocent question from a four year old?

She didn’t even notice her own eyes closing, her mind going blank with the rocking motion as she dropped off to sleep.

The bedroom door suddenly clicked open, light from the landing flooding into the bedroom and she jerked awake, blinking her eyes furiously as they adjusted to the bright invasion. She was surprised to see Jacob’s shadow filling the door frame.

‘One second,’ she whispered quietly, trying to manoeuvre herself so she could pick Grace up without waking her.

‘Let me,’ his voice was soft and he suddenly appeared in front of her. She felt his arms brush against her sides as he scooped her daughter up as though she weighed nothing more than a feather, and lowered her down onto her mattress. It was only as Ben stood that she realised his stick was propped against the chair, and she watched as it went to topple, anticipating the clatter but unable to prevent it. In an equally smooth motion, though, he grabbed it and moved off as she stepped forward to tuck the light summer duvet round her daughter.

They left the bedroom and Ben closed the door with a click.

‘Sorry to intrude, Aoife told me to come straight up.’

‘It’s fine,’ her reply sounded false somehow, hollow. ‘Cuppa?’ she added brightly, doing her best to ignore the pounding in her chest.
What the hell is it about this guy that has me all to pot?

‘So, how’s TJ?’ asked Ben, handing him a steaming mug.

‘Well she’s already moaning about wanting to leave the hospital so not too bad. She has to keep the wire in her jaw for a few weeks, the plate in her cheek a bit longer. Her concussion is easing but they want to keep her in for observations again. Her blood pressure keeps dipping apparently, which is a side effect of concussion. I think they’re doing it to stop her getting to her feet too. She was already making sounds about going back to work. The doctors have told her she needs at least two weeks off and she’s spitting feathers.’

‘Hard though, being cooped up in a hospital bed. Gives you too much time to think.’

‘You’re not wrong,’ Jacob smiled at her. His smile suddenly turned into a frown though. ‘She thinks the guy who did it is a client, or at least someone connected to a client. She didn’t remember much when she woke up this morning but now she’s said he told her she wasn’t worthy, that she would be taught a lesson in where women should be, which is well below men apparently. Ali is treating it like a hate aggravated assault. She has to have injury photos taken tomorrow at the hospital.’

‘Does she think it was hate related then? I might get asked to photograph – I’m on days tomorrow and I think we’re a bit thin on the ground. She wouldn’t mind would she?’

‘Why would she mind?’

Before Ben could answer, a loud crash sounded in the living room, followed rapidly by a scream.

Ben was up and out of the kitchen door before Jacob had even realised she’d got up.

‘Aoife? Are you OK? What the hell happened?’ asked Ben, her voice shrill with panic as she saw her aunt on the sofa and took in the broken glass spread all over the floor, and the breeze now coming in through the hole in the window.

‘I think I dropped off to sleep. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I thought someone was breaking in. I screamed to scare them off.’

‘What? Did you see anyone?’ Ben walked to the window and peered out onto the driveway and the street beyond.

‘No, love. Just heard the crash.’

Ben saw the stone lying on the floor by the TV and picked it up thoughtfully. ‘The lights are all on, and there’s the porch light outside which is also on. A burglar would be nuts to think he could get in here unnoticed using a brick. More than likely it was just kids playing silly beggars.’ Her heart was pounding though, echoing loudly in her ears as she spoke the words with a calmness she didn’t feel.

‘This little lady must’ve woke up with the noise,’ interrupted Jacob, holding a scared looking Grace on his hip as he leaned heavily on the one stick he was using to navigate. ‘I found her in the hall.’

‘Don’t put her down, there’s glass everywhere. It’ll cut her feet to shreds. Let me get the dustpan,’ fretted Aoife, heading into the kitchen.

‘Grace, would you mind letting Jacob take you back upstairs while Mammy cleans up this mess? I’ll be up in a minute, OK?’

Grace nodded silently, her small hands woven into the fabric of Jacob’s shirt as she held on tightly. Aoife came back in and handed her the dust pan and brush.

‘I’ll ring the police while you do that. That was nice of Jacob, taking Grace back to bed.’

Ben ignored the comment and began to sweep. In no time at all she was tipping the fragments into the plastic bin. Aoife had disappeared into the kitchen, presumably to put the kettle on while she phoned the control room. Ben took the opportunity and made her way back upstairs.

Jacob was sitting in the rocking chair, Grace already asleep and snuggled into his shoulder. He smiled at Ben as she entered, ‘Sorry. She fell asleep and I didn’t know how to put her to bed without waking her from this position.’

This time, Ben scooped her up and placed her on the mattress, pulling the duvet up and kissing her on the forehead. ‘She’ll be full of questions tomorrow, but for now she’ll sleep. Oh to be a child again, huh?’

‘Do you have wood big enough to fit that window lying around anywhere? I can fix it up until it gets repaired tomorrow? Save you phoning repair guy out?’

Ben scrunched her eyes for a moment in concentration. ‘Yeah, I think there’s some plywood out in the garage. From memory, we used to put it on the grass under the tent when I camped in the garden as a kid.’

‘Great. Where’s the garage?’

‘Outside the back through the kitchen. You sure you don’t mind?’

‘Positive,’ replied Jacob, making his way back down the stairs.

Chapter Fourteen

13
^th
June, 0840 hours – CSI Department, Sunderland City Centre Depot

‘Hey, Ben,’ said Ali, entering the CSI office with a grin. ‘You busy? How’d your class go last night?’

Ben looked up from the carpet of paperwork concealing her desk and gestured towards it with her hand. ‘Unfortunately busy, yea. Class was cancelled as Jacob couldn’t get someone to cover. How can I help?’

‘I know you have a personal connection to TJ and her brother. Would it be OK if you pop out to take some injury photos? I know it’s a pain when they’re not in the studio `cos the lighting and what not is unpredictable, but I could use some now and later photos? I’ve already mentioned it to Kevin and he’s happy for you to attend if you’re not too busy. He said you were on writing statements today.’

‘It’s fine, Ali. I don’t mind at all. I’ll pop over to the hospital later this morning – want me to print off your copy of the disc when I get back?’

‘Please,’ he said. ‘Can I be cheeky and ask for your statement too? If I get it all at once it makes it easier to keep track of.’

As Ben nodded again, he stood from his position perched on the edge of the desk and thanked her before leaving the room.

Ben felt a little like a storm chaser when she was around Ali. It was like the guy had two settings, whirlwind and tornado. Everything he did was at full pelt. She quite often felt like she’d be left behind in a trail of dust if she ever had to keep up with everything the man did.

13th June, 1105 hours – Ward 42, Sunderland Royal Hospital

‘Doc, I’m fine. I just want to go home.’ TJ was fully aware she sounded like a whiny child but she had really had enough of lying in bed surrounded by the noises filling the hospital ward. The doctor was just about to reply when a loud clatter sounded from the doorway. Glancing round, they saw Ben manoeuvre around a nurse who was picking up utensils off the floor.

‘What on earth is all this noise?’ asked the doctor, making his way into the corridor to help her.

‘Hey, TJ. I’m Ben. I’ve been asked to come and take some photos of your injuries. Is that OK?’

‘Yeah, sure. Ben as in Jacob’s Ben, right?’ TJ’s question was shrewd and she watched as Ben’s cheeks flushed with colour.

‘I … erm, I know your brother, yes.’

‘You
know
my brother?’ TJ tried to inject a note of seriousness into her tone.
This was too easy!
Her wicked sense of humour was howling at the sight of Ben stumbling over fitting the flash gun to her camera as she thought about how to respond. ‘I’m pulling your chain. Don’t worry. Jacob’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. It’s nice to see him interested in someone to be honest. He likes you a lot.’

‘He does?’ Ben tried for a neutral tone and was horrified when she realised how corny her voice sounded. She was like the kid who just got told her school boy crush liked her back. She seriously needed to rein herself back a little. She barely knew him for goodness sake. ‘Are you ready?’ All business now, Ben smiled at TJ who nodded silently.

‘I’ll start by taking one of your face so just look straight ahead. Then I’ll move to your injuries. You’ll need to help me by holding the scale if you don’t mind.’

Ben double checked the camera settings and set to work, covering all angles and injuries in a matter of minutes. ‘You’ll need to arrange to come down for some further photo’s when you’ve had the wire and plate removed. It’s just so we can show from start to finish.’

‘Yeah, no problems. I’ll have Jacob arrange something with you directly if that’s OK?’

Ben nodded, her shyness finally leaving her. She bit her lip, wanting to ask TJ about the PTSD but not quite knowing where to start.

Intuitively though, TJ picked up on it. ‘He’s never violent, he loses himself in the visions sometimes but I’ve never known him lash out. He told me about your past, I hope you don’t mind. Actually, in fairness to Jacob, he thought I was asleep at the time so he didn’t
tell me
tell me.’

‘That’s not what I was going to say. I didn’t think he would lash out for one moment. I was just going to ask how you bring him round? Is it just a case of talking to him or is there a special technique that you’ve learned?’

‘It’s pretty much the same as for your panic attacks to be honest – focus on breathing, talking calmly, and body contact helps so hold his hand or squeeze his arm. He can often prevent them himself now but it’s worse when he’s upset.’

‘That’s what he said. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be intrusive.’

‘It’s not intrusive, Ben. You don’t get if you don’t ask.’ TJ gazed at Ben thoughtfully. ‘Don’t hurt him, OK? He’s got this major hang up. He thinks he’s not attractive and that he can’t look after a woman. It’s not true, obviously, but it’s how he feels. I’ve never been able to get him past that. But, I have a feeling you may.’