Unfinished Business (14 page)

“Trouble Elspeth?” said Brodie.

“Nothing me and Maleficent can’t handle, eh sweetie?” she said, bending to pet the cat. “He’ll think twice about complaining when you use his garden as a toilet, won’t he?” she cooed to the cat.

“That’s a lethal weapon you’ve got there,” commented Brodie.

“She’s better than any Rottweiler or Doberman. Woe betide any burglar who tries to break in.”

Brodie glanced down at the evil, green-eyed thing, which had sat down beside her owner and was staring at him, not blinking. Did cats blink? He wasn’t sure but it didn’t look natural.

“Have you spoken to Katie Marsh?” said Elspeth.

“We have,” he replied.

“It caused a huge uproar. Richard was very worried.”

“He believed Katie then?”

“Course not, full of tales she was. She even thought Patrick Wiley, who was the best looking boy on the street, fancied her. Can you imagine any boy preferring that frump over Sarah? She might be a madam but she’s a beautiful madam. Richard and Joy still did a deal with the mother though to keep her quiet, they didn’t want the Marsh’s spreading their lies and ruining their good name.”

“Did you believe Katie?”

“Not sure. Richard was adamant she was innocent but I’m more willing to believe Sarah has a bad side. I don’t think she went as far as the Marsh’s claimed, I think she just wanted to put the frighteners up Katie because she’d had a gutful of her. Katie was always hanging round, not giving her any peace, it was pathetic really. Sarah used to get so embarrassed. Finally Katie got the message and stayed away from her after that but sometimes she hung around outside their house, staring up at Sarah’s room. I think there was a bit of a girl crush going on.”

“Did you ever see Katie outside the house?” said Brodie.

“I didn’t but Sarah did and Joy backed her up. To be fair Katie had to walk past her house to get to school so make of that what you will. Sarah said she was obsessed with her and it was some sort of twisted revenge to get back at her. Katie always was a funny girl. She still is.”

Brodie was tempted to point out that at least Katie Marsh didn’t throw cats at her neighbours but was too worried about the evil green eyed specimen being hurled at him.

“Is that you off then?” she called when they headed towards Brodie’s car.

“Yes it is,” he called back.

“Don’t go taking my cat with you.”

Brodie looked down and almost jumped to see Maleficent standing next to him, gazing up at him with those wicked eyes.

“Maleficent, come back here.”

With one last haughty look the cat turned its back on Brodie and flicked up its tail, giving him an unpleasant view of its puckered arsehole. She vaulted over the hedge back into her garden and into Elspeth’s arms, who stood at the gate stroking her while they climbed back into the car.

“Jesus, that cat gives me the fear,” said Brodie.

“Normally I’d take the piss out of you for a comment like that but in this case I agree,” muttered Cass, wiping cat hair from her trousers.

“Don’t do that, I don’t want fur all over my car,” objected Brodie.

“Why not? It can’t make it any worse,” she said, indicating the discarded food wrappers and drinks bottles in the passenger footwell. “Is this the character you were talking about or just the source of the smell?”

“If you don’t like it you can walk,” he said, starting the engine.

“I’ve grown immune to it. At least, I hope so. I might get a tetanus shot when I get home.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Gingerly she picked up a chocolate wrapper between thumb and forefinger. “They stopped making these two years ago.”

“In that case it’s not litter, it’s vintage.”

“Nice try,” she grimaced, letting it drop back into the footwell. “So, who did you believe?”

“Katie Marsh when we were talking to her, then I believed Elspeth.”

“You believe crazy cat lady over poor Katie?”

“I believe she was told all that by Sarah and her parents. Doesn’t mean it was true and anyone would prefer to believe their own niece was the victim of an obsessive stalker rather than think she was a psycho.”

“Is Sarah a psycho?” said Cass.

“She doesn’t give that impression. If Katie was needy and clingy she might have snapped one day and wanted to give her a good fright like Elspeth said but I don’t think she would have gone through with it. Katie might be some sort of fantasist. I mean, can you imagine any teenage boy fancying her over Sarah?”

“What a stupid thing to say.”

“Why?”

“Just because a woman doesn’t look like Angelina Jolie doesn’t mean she’s a write off. Patrick might have seen something in her. Sarah’s a vain, shallow, narcissist.”

“You really don’t like her.”

“I’m not her biggest fan.”

“Do you think she’s capable of jamming a knife into a woman’s…front bottom?”

“Did I hear right? Did big bad Brodie MacBride just use the term front bottom?” she smiled.

“I’m trying to be polite, you’re always on at me for my bad manners.”

“You could have said vagina. I’m not a child.”

Brodie was at a loss when Cass came out with
that
word. At least he didn’t blush. “You’re not Sarah’s biggest fan but do you think she’s capable of that?”

“Who knows? Don’t let her pretty little helpless exterior fool you.”

“I’m not. I’ve just spent more time with her than you have. She can’t even swear properly. It hardly fits in with the image Elspeth gave of her. One thing you learn when you hang around with a dodgy crowd is bad language.”

“And Elspeth was bitter about Sarah not wanting to spend time with her anymore. Hardly surprising when she throws cats at people and won’t let visitors sit down.”

“She took to you,” he said with his lopsided smile.

“Because I stood up to her but we can’t believe everything she said, she’s obviously not all there.”

“I wish we could speak to Sarah’s parents.”

“Sorry Boss, they’re halfway around the world with the grandkids.”

“That’s a bloody shame.”

“What now?” she said enthusiastically as he started the engine, which coughed and whined.

“Let’s go and ask Sarah about what really happened to Katie Marsh.”

“We promised Katie we wouldn’t tell her we spoke to her.”

“I haven’t forgotten but we didn’t make Elspeth any such promise.”

“True and I think Elspeth can take care of herself. But aren’t we skirting round the real issue? What has this got to do with the Creegans?”

“Probably nothing but if Sarah Creegan isn’t who we think she is then it might have a bearing on the case.”

“Perhaps. It can’t hurt to ask and I’m really looking forward to seeing her face when you ask her if she tried to stick a knife up her friend’s front bottom.”

“Cass, you’ve got an evil smile on your face.”

“This should be really entertaining,” she grinned.

CHAPTER 12

Brodie was expecting Sarah to open her front door, so he was astonished when Mark opened it instead.

“Didn’t expect to see me here, did you?” he smiled, leaning against the doorframe.

“She’s taken you back then?” said Brodie.

“She’s forgiven me. We’re too good together.”

“Mind if we come in and see her?”

“There’s no need now I’m back.”

“I want to know she’s okay.”

Mark’s eyes flicked to Cass. “Who’s this?”

“My colleague, Cass Carlisle.”

“Alright, come on in then. I know you won’t be satisfied until you’ve seen her. Sarah, we’ve got company,” he called through the house as Cass and Brodie stepped inside.

She appeared in the hallway looking calm and relaxed, her blue eyes clear and bright. “Hello.”

“Are you alright?” said Brodie.

“He seems to think I’ve done something to you,” said Mark with a smile.

“As you can see I’m perfectly fine.” She wrapped her arms around Mark’s waist. “We made up. I’ve forgiven him for not telling me about his past and I don’t believe he’s The Carver.”

“Sarah told me all about your nasty little suspicions,” said Mark. “Serial killer indeed, what a load of crap.”

“The police didn’t think it was so ridiculous. They interviewed you about the killings.”

“Only because of the similarity to the original killings in Camden, which were nothing to do with me either I hasten to add. The police realised that and they haven’t bothered me since.”

At that point Cass’s mobile phone rang. She was torn. Finally she’d got to meet another Creegan but this call could be important. “May I?” she said, pointing to the lounge, phone in hand.

“Be my guest,” replied Mark smoothly.

“You’re sure this is what you want?” Brodie asked Sarah as Cass ducked into the lounge to take her call.

“Yes, very,” she said, smiling up at her husband. “I’ve missed him so much.”

The sickly domestic scene made Brodie nauseous. “So you’re back to normal then?”

“As much as we can be,” replied Sarah. “The kids are away for another week so we’ve got some time to ourselves to make up properly,” she purred, nestling into her husband. Mark smiled, his arms tightening around her.

“I don’t know who sent you here Brodie but it appears you’ve had a wasted journey,” said Mark. “I hope you’re being paid well.”

“I am.”

“You may as well go back to Glasgow because there’s nothing left here for you to do.”

Brodie wasn’t so sure about that, the situation had turned around too quickly for his liking. “I don’t think I’m ready to go back just yet.”

“Why not?” sighed Mark.

“I like it here,” he replied with a smile. This was just too neat for him. He feared Sarah had been charmed by her handsome, charismatic husband and that she’d just made a huge mistake. Besides, there were questions he still had for them both.

“If you’re worried there’s no need to be,” said Mark.

Brodie could detect the underlying annoyance in his voice. “But I am worried Mark. You see, my business is…”

“Unfinished business, yes we know,” he said with a roll of the eyes.

“And there’s still a lot of stuff unfinished.”

“Like what?”

“Who really killed your dad?”

His jaw tensed. “That’s it, get out. I’m sick of you sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“This will always overshadow your life. Why don’t you tell the truth and put your wife’s mind at rest that she isn’t living with a murderer?”

As Mark squared up to him Brodie wondered if he’d been wrong all along. There was no trace of the usual bluster and his gaze was hard and steady. Perhaps he was capable of murder after all?

“If you don’t fuck off right now I’m calling the police. We can throw a ton of charges at you - stalking, harassment, trespassing...”

“Alright, take it easy pal.”

“I am not your pal.”

Brodie looked round Mark to Sarah. “Has he told you the full story of what happened that day?”

“He doesn’t need to,” she said, throwing back her head.

“Wouldn’t you like to hear it for your peace of mind? I think that’s a yes,” he said when she appeared hesitant.

Mark turned to face her. “Is it true Sarah? Do you need to hear every detail?”

“I…I think it might help me come to terms with it.”

“Why didn’t you say? I would have told you if you’d asked,” he said gently.

“I thought it might upset you.”

Brodie shuffled on the spot when they gazed lovingly at each other, Mark reaching out to touch her face.

“Hello?” Brodie said impatiently.

Mark let his hand drop and huffed out a breath. “Oh, you’re still here,” he said flatly.

“Listen, I know you don’t want to talk about it but what happened to your dad could be linked to The Carver killings. If not for me or your wife then do it for the women who’ve died and who might still die.”

Mark looked from Brodie to Sarah and back again. “Oh…damn it, how am I supposed to say no to that?”

“You’re not. You’re supposed to say okay Brodie, let’s discuss it right now.”

“You never let go, do you?”

“No, I’m like a limpet.”

“I was going to say you’re more like syphilis. Fine, let’s get this over with,” said Mark, ignoring Brodie’s frown. “Maybe then you’ll finally leave us alone.”

“Maybe,” he replied cheerfully, irritating Mark.

He led Brodie and Sarah into the living room to find Cass just concluding her call. Brodie could tell in her eyes there was something she wanted to share with him but he shook his head, telling her it must wait.

“Sit down then,” said Mark impatiently.

They all took their seats on the huge cream couches, Sarah and Mark facing Cass and Brodie. Sarah took her husband’s hand and angled herself to face him, large blue eyes soft and full of sympathy. Brodie wondered what Mark had done to bring about such a turnaround.

It took Mark a full minute to build himself up to talk about something that he hadn’t spoken about in years. His body was rigid, eyes hard.

“It’s okay, in your own time,” said Sarah gently.

Cass shuffled in her seat and Brodie could sense her agitation. Obviously that phone call had contained important information but he wasn’t going to interrupt this moment for anything.

Finally Mark spoke. “You’re already aware that my dad was a brutal bully but I don’t think you understand just how vicious he was. We all experienced physical abuse on a daily basis. As me and Seth grew up and he realised that one day soon we would be men, Mum and Lauren started to bear the brunt of his rage. We were big, just like him. As he got older he started to get flabby but he was still strong, frighteningly so. He could move heaps of wood on his own. I once saw him with half a tree trunk over his shoulder like it was nothing.”

“Wood?” said Brodie.

“Woodworking was his hobby. He had a big shed in the back garden that we weren’t allowed near. I know what you’re thinking,” he added sharply. “My dad was into woodworking which means he must have been The Camden Carver.”

“I never said that,” replied Brodie.

“You didn’t need to. I can see it in your eyes and to be honest, I don’t know if he was. He was certainly violent enough and when he died the killings mysteriously stopped. He hated women, he said Mum ruined his life, dragged him down and that Lauren was useless and should have been drowned at birth. He once told me that if I ever got married I should keep my wife in the bedroom or the kitchen. Never give her an inch, it was all women were good for. His words you understand, not mine.”

“I’m glad you didn’t listen to him,” said Cass darkly.

“No he didn’t,” said Sarah, grasping his hands tighter.

“Of course I didn’t, his views were prehistoric,” continued Mark. “But I always got the feeling that something happened to him as a child. Whenever we asked about our grandparents he’d either clam up or go off on one. I knew my grandparents were still living but I never saw them. He said that as far as he was concerned they were dead.”

“Have you ever tried finding them?”

“I’ve no wish to have anything to do with his side of the family, I’m too afraid they’re as rotten as he was. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. I believe when he died the police spoke to them but they never turned up at court for my trial. It seems they didn’t care.”

“Are you saying they abused your father?” said Cass.

“It did cross my mind, they do say abusers have usually been abused themselves, not that it’s any excuse.”

“So, the day he was killed?” prompted Brodie.

Mark’s black eyes flicked up to meet his. “If you think I’m innocent then you’re wrong. I did it.”

“Can you describe the events leading up to the murder? Was it a normal day?”

“You mean did I wake up knowing I was going to kill my father? No, I didn’t. I woke up at seven thirty as usual, showered and dressed, ready for college. Mum was already up making breakfast. Lauren and Seth were still in bed, neither of them have ever been good at getting up early. To be fair, Lauren was going through a bad patch at the time, her mental health was starting to seriously crumble, especially beneath dad’s tyranny. Seth was always a lazy bastard. Dad used to go mad if we slept in but he was leaving Seth alone because he’d started getting aggressive back with him. Funny thing was he respected him more for it.

I ate breakfast and just as I was going out the door dad got up. I could hear him stomping around upstairs, muttering to himself like he always did. I left the house before he came downstairs. I went to college…”

“What were you studying?” said Brodie.

“Art History. Dad hated it, he called me a poof more than once. He said I should do something real, find a trade working with my hands, like him. Apparently that was real men’s work,” he said bitterly. “The day passed normally enough and I returned home at four, as I always did.” He broke off and got to his feet. “I need a drink. Sarah?”

“Vodka and ice please,” she said, voice faraway.

Mark poured himself a scotch and Sarah her vodka and returned to the couch with the drinks, not bothering to offer Cass or Brodie anything.

“Would you like a drink?” Sarah asked when she realised Mark wasn’t about to.

Brodie shook his head. “No thanks,” he replied, just wanting Mark to get on with it.

“Mum, Lauren and Seth were there,” continued Mark. “They hadn’t left the house all day. Lauren hadn’t been very well and they’d stayed in to keep an eye on her, I think they were afraid she was going to set the house on fire, she’d already tried it once. Dad was still at work. Everything was quiet and calm. The others were watching TV in the front room while I worked on my college coursework at the kitchen table.” He knocked back his whisky and grimaced before continuing. “Dad came home at about seven o’clock while I was still in the kitchen. He stank of drink. He saw my work spread out on the table and he lost it. He started calling me a poof, a gayboy, the usual disgusting, unimaginative insults. I didn’t say anything, I just listened, getting angrier and angrier.” He heaved in a breath, making his body shudder. “He started hitting me. The more he hit me the madder I got. What happened next is a bit blurred but I remember hearing Lauren crying in the front room and Mum and Seth trying to calm her down. That only got me even madder. She’d been so calm all day and he was spoiling it and, even worse, he didn’t even care. I pushed him away and yelled at him to stop. He stumbled and knocked over a vase, breaking it. He looked so surprised. I was just as tall as him by that time and I’d never stood up to him before. He said
so you do have some balls after all
. Then he hit me again and again.”

He broke off to kiss Sarah’s hair when she whimpered with distress, eyes shiny with tears, but his gaze was distant, already lost in the past. “This might sound strange but it was when he threw a mug of cold tea over my coursework that I lost it. I’d worked on it for weeks, it was almost ready to be handed in and just before the deadline too. I didn’t have a back-up on computer, we didn’t have one then. The whole thing had been painstakingly handwritten. I experienced this indescribable rage, it possessed me. I saw the knife in the block on the kitchen counter, the big butcher’s knife and I thought it was the perfect way out. I picked it up and started stabbing him until he stopped moving. The post-mortem said the seventh blow killed him but I’m sure they were wrong, he just wouldn’t stop fucking moving.”

Both Cass and Brodie were startled by the brute savagery in his tone. Noticing this, Mark forced himself to relax. “I just wanted him gone so he couldn’t hurt us anymore. I’m sorry about the way it happened but I’m not sorry he’s dead.” He looked to Sarah. “Are you okay babe?”

She blinked away her tears. “I was frightened to know but now I’m glad. You were just protecting yourself and your family. He would have ended up killing one of you one day.”

“Probably, either Lauren or Mum,” he said, wrapping his arm around her. He looked to Brodie. “So you see, I did do it. There’s no big mystery, no matter how much you want there to be.”