Echoes of the Past (19 page)

“Could
you give me the week, Scott?”

The
man blew out a loud breath and leaned back in his chair. “I have to attend a talk at Napier; it’s about policing the internet and cyber bullying. So that will be a couple of days for you. The longest I can hold back is Monday. After that I have to take it to the super, and you know he is going to hand it straight to the cold case unit.”

Tom
nodded. He knew Scott was doing him a big favour sitting on it until Monday.

“You
know that you are talking about a serial that has been at large for over forty years, Tom. One that no one even knew was around. We could be looking at another Tobin all over again. This isn’t something we can hold back on.”

Tom
knew he was right. But he also new that he did not want to give this case up. He had not told Scott that Jill Patterson’s flat mate was his wife’s patient. Nor had he mentioned the fact that the last copper was looking into it before he died and that he suspected the killer was in Coppersfield. All these things made it personal for Tom, that would most likely be the very reason they would want to take it from him.

“You’ve
put together a great case connecting five women who had never been connected before. But have you got anywhere on a suspect, maybe a fresh pair of eyes would help.”

“Well,
we know he has to be in his late 60s, he is or poses as a business man and he travels the London Glasgow train, he parks in Glasgow so he is this side of the border. He discreetly acquaints himself with them in the bar where they work, before using a job offer as a ruse to get them to meet him in private. He must not be intimidating and he blends in well. He also only seems to hunt in the first few weeks of August.”

“That
narrows it down to a few hundred thousand men, Tom. You’ve got squat on him.” Scott rubbed his hands over his face. “Ok. You have until Monday. After that, we have to hand it off. And to think I thought you were up there searching for missing dogs all this time.” Scott handed back the files. “We never had this discussion. Bring everything you have on Monday.”

“Thanks,
Scott.”

Tom
carried the files down to the car. His mind was working overtime. He had to get back and read the rest of Sara’s files, then arrange to talk to Eva Brook. He also considered paying an unannounced visit to Jim Watt, he was certainly the right age.

*****

Lee was in the kitchen preparing dinner when she heard Jess come through the front door after her day at the stables. It was around 6pm and it was starting to get dusky outside. Lately she had been feeling a sense of relief when Jess came home, a combination of knowing Jess was safe and knowing she was no longer home alone, something that hadn’t bothered her before.

“How
was the horse riding,” she asked.

“Great,
Dad not back yet?” Jess dumped her bag by the kitchen table and hung her coat on the back of the chair.

“Take
that lot upstairs please.”

“Where
is Topaz?”

Lee
glanced around the kitchen. She had not seen or heard the cat for a while now. “I don’t know, love.”

Jess
walked into the living room calling her name. But there was no sign.

Jess.

“Coming.” She walked back to the kitchen. “You called?”

“No.
Did you find the cat?” asked Lee.

Jess
lifted her bag. “No, I’ll check my bed.” She went upstairs.

Jess.

Jess stopped and looked around, she was sure she could hear someone calling her. She continued up the staircase and went into her bedroom. She checked under the bed and behind the dresser, but there was no sign of Topaz. She walked from room to room looking under beds and in closets to see where the kitten had decided to take her evening nap. The oak clock stood at the bottom end of the hall ticking away the seconds, the only sound breaking the silence of the upstairs. Jess walked to the end of the hall, through the arch to the staircase leading to the attic. The old floorboards groaned slightly under her slight weight. Jess looked up at the slightly open door. She knew this was just the type of place a kitten would have fun, filled with dust and boxes.

Jess.

Jess climbed the stairs to the attic.

Jess.

Boxes stood piled high. Jess was the third generation to live in this house. Boxes that had belonged to her mother and grandmother surrounded her. She called out for Topaz, listening intently for her tiny movements.

JESS!

The hairs on the back of her arm stood on end as she straightened up. There was no disputing she had heard someone call her name. The atmosphere felt charged as she felt her stomach begin to knot.

The
dark shadow slid invisibly down the wall. It slithered across the window blocking the slight dusk light that was seeping through the glass.

Jess
turned.

“Is
that you, Topaz? I’m going to leave you up here if you don’t come out.” Filled with discomfort, Jess turned to leave when a chill went through her, almost a wind, a small box fell from the top of one of the towers scathing her leg. Jess let out a yelp, and headed briskly for the door. Another gust blew through the old attic slamming the door closed in front of Jess. The panic began to rise in her stomach, she could feel eyes following her every move.

The
shadow slid silently across the floor to where the small box lay.

Jess
ran to the attic door, the chill causing her limbs to feel stiff.

“Aunt
Lee! Help!” The tears ran down her face as panic gripped her removing all sense of rational thinking, all thoughts of Topaz were gone, all Jess could think of was getting out, too afraid to turn her head to look behind her she could feel the presence of someone or something watching on at her horror.

In
the kitchen, Lee had given up the search for the kitten and was stirring the pot of chilli. She lifted the bread from the oven and turned the sticks out on to a rack to cool. Turning to put the try back in the oven she saw Topaz standing in the kitchen stretching her back legs out and yawning.

“There
you are. Jess, I found her,” she called “Jess, I found Topaz.” Lee walked into the hall she could hear banging and yelling from upstairs. “Jess?” A muffled cry came back. Lee ran to the upstairs hall and looked around her. She could hear Jess clearly now, she was in the attic. Lee ran up the stairs and pushed the door open. An hysterical Jess fell through the door and down the staircase to the hall.

“I
got locked in, Aunt Lee, I heard someone call and then the door closed.”

Lee
put her arms around her. “It’s all right. You’re out know, it’s an old door they stick sometimes, your all right.” Lee noticed a gash on her leg. “What happened?”

Jess
looked down. “A box fell on me just before the door closed, it hit my leg.”

Lee
stroked her hair as she hugged her. “Oh, honey, you must have been scared to death. It’s just been a draught, then the door jamming. Why were you up there?”

“I
was looking for Topaz.”

“Ah,
now that I can help with, she is in the kitchen.”

“Aunt
Lee, I heard someone call my name. It wasn’t a draught.”

Lee
looked at her niece, her eyes like saucers and her face as white as a sheet. “Jess, there isn’t anything in the attic, you simply got scared to death and imagined all sorts, I would have too, if I had found myself locked in up there. It’s a creepy place.”

Jess
pushed her away, not at all grateful for the rationality she was showing.

“This
whole damn place is creepy, and no one will listen to me, I hate it here.” Jess turned and stormed down the stairs to the safety of the warm kitchen and her loyal companion, who had inadvertently caused the drama.

Lee
glanced up the stairs to the open attic door. She had no intention of investigating her niece’s claims, that was the kind of thing the crazy person did in the movies. She knew Jess was telling the truth. Something was going on, she just wasn’t sure what, nor did she feel it would be prudent to go there with Jess. It would only serve to reinforce her fear. The feeling upstairs was distinctly uncomfortable. Hurriedly Lee stood and headed for the safety of the kitchen.

It
was almost 7pm when Tom arrived home with Danny. The usual greetings were shared and they all sat down to dinner. Jess was quiet over dinner, she was still feeling dismissed over her feelings.

“How
did things go with Scott?” Lee asked as they were finishing up with the coffee.

“Well,
the good news is he doesn’t think we are all crazy up here, he is pretty sure the cases are all linked. The bad news is he will have to send it to the cold case team, and there will be a shit storm if the press find out that there was a serial at large and we didn’t even know there had been a murder.”

“Yes,
I can imagine. And so you are convinced that there is a serial killer out there and all these women met him.”

“There
are too many coincidences, and I don’t like coincidences,” stated Tom as he swallowed back his coffee.

“I
have homework to do; I’ll see you in the morning,” announced Jess. She kissed Tom on the head as she walked toward the door.

“You
haven’t finished your tea.”

“Not
hungry, Dad. See you later.” Jess lifted Topaz and climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

“She’s
quiet tonight.”

“She
had a bit of a scare today,” Lee explained. “She was looking for Topaz in the attic and the door jammed, a box fell on her and grazed her leg, all in all she was hysterical when I got up there.”

“You’re
joking. Is her leg ok?”

“Yes,
but I think she is feeling a little miffed that no one seems to be taking her feelings seriously.”

“Take
what feelings seriously?”

“You
know fine, Tom. She thinks there is something in the house.”

“Load
of nonsense. I will go up and talk to her later, see if I can reassure her.”

“Well,
you can do the dishes, I’m off home tonight. You don’t need me tomorrow do you?”

“No,
I’m working locally, isn’t tomorrow your night with Elsie?”

“Please,
don’t remind me,” Lee said as she gathered her things together. “Give Jess a kiss for me, seeing as she didn’t offer one on her way to bed tonight.”

Lee
left Danny and Tom to the clearing away. The two men took a beer from the fridge and walked through to the study. Tom gave Danny the story from Sara’s files.

“Eva
Brook, wrote this?” Danny asked.

“Read
it. I think if we can find her cousin, then maybe she could lead us to the killer. It could have been a stable hand or anything.”

Tom
knew they had a lot of work in front of them. If they had any hope of getting new leads on any of these cases he would have to go through everything he had, including his wife’s files. He was only just sharing what he had found with Danny. Tom knew two heads were better than one. The fact that the victim’s flat mate had become one of his late wife’s patients twenty something year’s later was another coincidence, and he did not like them. He was also concerned that he was too close to it, blind to something that maybe Danny would see.

It
was much later in the evening when Tom went upstairs to check on Jess. Jess was lying in her bed dozing; she found it difficult to get in to a sleep now. She kept the lamp on by the bed.

The
ever present shadow in the corner of the room, watching.

Jess
saw her father in the doorway, his large frame filling it.

“I
hear you had a scare today.”

“I
know, it’s an old house, it’s draughty, I’ve heard all the explanations for what happened, Dad.”

Tom
walked over and sat at the edge of her bed. He stroked her dark hair away from her face with his large hands.

“I
don’t know what to tell you love. It is an old house. It is full of draughts. But I can say there is nothing in this house that can harm you, or that you should be afraid of.”

“You
just won’t listen to me, Dad.”

“Ok,
I’m listening.”

Jess
took a deep breath. “I feel Olivia. Not just her, but other things, I have nightmares almost every night. When I wake, I can feel something in the room. And there
was
something in the attic with me.”

Tom
paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. “You will feel Olivia. You guys were as close as sisters. Your Aunt Lee still feels your mother around her. As for bad dreams, it seems to be going around. After what you have been through the last couple of years, if all you are getting are bad dreams, then I don’t think that’s too bad. Being locked in an old attic would scare anyone love, no wonder you felt panicked. But that does not mean that the house is haunted, and if it was, do you really think Olivia would try to scare you? Come on, how about I make you a hot drink and we can have a chat?”