Page 63 of Her Hidden Shadow

‘What was in it?’

‘A box of what he described as beautifully crafted handmade chocolates. He never told her they arrived, and he binned the chocolates and the card. About a week later, he found something in her side of the wardrobe, a very sexy blue chemise. He knew that Lauren had never bought it for herself, and it was in a box, wrapped in tissue paper like it had been gifted. Robbie thought that Lauren was having an affair and the gifts were from a lover. She used to go out a lot, with the excuse of just nipping to the shops or popping into Redditch to do some shopping, but she often never came back with anything.’

‘So, you think Lauren was having an affair and that had something to do with Sienna and Robbie’s murders?’

‘That’s exactly what I’m saying.’

Gina thought back to the argument in the road that Lauren denied having. One of the neighbours had seen her. Had she been trying to tell her lover that it was over, or had they been arguing because Lauren was still with him? ‘Did Robbie suspect anyone he knew of having an affair with her?’

‘He accused me. He said that I’d been trying to break him and Lauren up by telling Sienna to confess to Lauren about their one-night stand. I knew this would come out so I thought I should come here and tell you everything.’

Gina observed the scruffy man’s features and his slightly crooked nose as she tried to picture him cleaned up and standing next to the woman who presented make-up demos on TikTok. Robbie was described as charming, but Damon seemed quiet and unkempt.

‘I know what you’re thinking. Me and Lauren, what a joke? You’re right. Robbie was out of his mind accusing me and I was at the pub with my friends on Saturday night. I’m probably on CCTV and I went to the chip shop after where I talked to several people in the queue. Elouise at the Angel Arms will vouch for me too, so I’m not worried. What I am worried about is the man I saw Sienna with outside the supermarket. Maybe he was jealous of Robbie and angry at Sienna for going to see him on Saturday. You need to find him, and you need to charge him with murdering my brother. Either that, or it has to be Lauren’s bit on the side, whoever he is. Ask Lauren. You have to talk to her, okay? Maybe Lauren was out that night, but have you considered she might have been trying to get rid of Robbie? Maybe she knew about his fling with Sienna and about their daughter. I might be jumping to conclusions, but maybe Sienna’s new man was Lauren’s lover and they planned this together as an act of revenge for what Sienna and Robbie did to her.’ He paused. ‘I don’t know. I’m getting confused now. All I know is that I don’t trust Lauren or Sienna’s new man.’

They needed to speak to Lauren, and they needed to do it now. If she was still at Tiffany Crawford’s house, they could call PC Ahmed and hope she’d come in voluntarily for an interview. The hole was getting deeper by the minute for Jacob and Gina knew that Sullivan was enjoying seeing her team’s downfall. Gina felt the room sway slightly. Jacob lived near the first victim, Hazel. He’s always stayed close enough to Redditch, which puts him in the area for Tiffany’s attack, and now Sienna. He was in a relationship with her and there was some tension between them. The more she denied he could be their perp, the more her stomach turned. She couldn’t deny that the evidence was piling up and that Jacob could be heading for a life sentence if charged with double murder.

Forty-Seven

Nancy

Nancy threw her bag on the sofa, still shaken from her encounter with Preston. ‘Lauren,’ she called, but her daughter still wasn’t home. Fifi yapped and jumped around her legs, almost tripping her up. ‘Down, girl.’ Confusion filled her mind. Was it Preston? If it wasn’t then who was sending the messages and trying to attack her? She’d been so sure it was him. Running into the kitchen, she checked the back door and the window. Both were locked. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and to her relief she saw that there were no more messages in her inbox. She placed the phone on the kitchen table. Taking a deep breath, she slumped against the worktop, turning the tap on. She lathered up her hands, wanting to wash away the day. Fifi snuffled at the back door. ‘You want to go out.’ She dried her hands and let the dog into the garden.

Fifi bounded over the stumps of grass, barking at the trees swaying in the breeze. Her gaze fell upon a strip of white material caught on a branch that danced away as the breeze caught it. She stepped out onto the slabs and hurried over. As she traced the delicate material with her index finger, she checked the garden again before snatching it off the tree. She held it in her hands and for a second, she thought she recognised it. No, there was no way it could be what she thought it was. No way at all. That train of thought was absurd.

She hurried to the back of the garden and lifted the lid off the wheelie bin. After taking one more look at the lacy veil, she dropped it into the bin, happy to see the back of it. Maybe Lauren had kept it all those years as a memory. The breeze picked up again and the patio set cover still flapped at the back gate. She walked over and scooped it up. That’s when she noticed that the gate was unlocked. Heart banging, she slid the lock across and ran back into the kitchen. ‘Fifi,’ she called as she dropped the plastic onto the floor, but the dog ignored her and wagged its tail. ‘Fifi, Mummy said get in, now.’ The dog barked and began to nudge a ball with its nose. Nancy didn’t want to play; she wanted Fifi to do as she was told.

Someone rang the doorbell. She froze and held her breath. A heavy knock made her flinch. Her pulse quickened. She pulled the kitchen door closed and left the dog playing in the garden. Hurrying to the living room, she peered from behind the curtain to see who was calling but she couldn’t see anyone. There was something on the paving stones. Maybe the edge of a mauve-coloured box. She wasn’t expecting a delivery. Maybe Lauren had ordered something. She held a hand over her thrumming heart, knowing she’d have to check. Glancing through the window, up and down the road, she couldn’t see any cars parked up and no one was around. On occasion, walkers would take the route past her cottage to climb the Malvern Hills, but not today. Today, there was no one at all. It was safe to open the door. The delivery person had long gone.

As she placed her hand on the lock, she paused, wondering if it was a good idea to open the door. Maybe the caller was hiding in the porchway. She couldn’t see that from the lounge window. She made a mental note to get a peephole fitted. After pulling the chain across, she gently opened the door and exhaled as she held her hand over her beating heart. There was no one there but there was a bunch of red and pink roses in a mauve box. She removed the chain and opened the door, listening for the sound of a cough, a footstep or any noise that would tell her that someone was lurking around. There was nothing, only the sound of the howling breeze. She reached down and picked up the flower box. Water sloshed inside the sealed bag at the stems as she carried it into the hallway and placed it on the floor. They had to be for Lauren. She pulled the card out and opened the envelope. As she slid it, she read the only two words on the embossed paper. Forever mine. Those words almost took her breath away.

Fifi began to bark and scratch at the back door. She threw the card onto the floor, hurried to the kitchen and flung the back door open, letting Fifi in. Her mind swam with memories and thoughts as the enormity of all that had happened hit her. It wasn’t Preston. He had nothing to do with those messages or her attack. She knew exactly who was behind it all and she knew why. She also knew that there was worse to come. Turning the key in the back door, she stared out at the back gate which was now flapping open and closed. There was no time to waste. She reached for her phone on the kitchen table, but her hand brushed on nothing but wood. Heart in mouth, she knew he had it and he was coming for her. Then she heard footsteps in the hallway, and she knew she wasn’t going to live another day and worse, he would take the one person who was more precious to her than anything. ‘Fifi,’ she called, and the dog shook as it hid under the table.

Tears fell down her cheeks. All she could think of was Lauren and the terrible thing she did. All these years, Nancy had done everything she could to protect her daughter but now she was powerless, and she was to blame. She went to unlock the back door, but it was too late. She felt his warm, slow breaths on her neck, and she knew it was over.

Forty-Eight

‘Guv, Lauren Cross is waiting in interview room one. PC Ahmed has just brought her in and headed off on his break.’ O’Connor stood at the entrance to her office.

She closed the emails she’d been staring at for the past ten minutes. By some miracle, she lived in hope that new evidence would surface, and it would clear Jacob but that hadn’t happened. ‘How does she seem?’

‘Confused. She only knows that we want to speak to her about the case.’

‘Is there someone watching Tiffany’s place?’

He nodded. ‘Yes, PC Smith turned up and relieved PC Ahmed. Right, I best get back to it. Collier said he was on his way.’

‘Great,’ Gina replied, sarcastically and O’Connor raised his brows.

‘I can’t stop thinking about Jacob, guv. Do you think he did it?’

She stood and looked through the slats in her blind, watching the protesters in the car park. ‘They’ve already convicted him.’ She paused. ‘I can see why this is happening.’ She pointed at the mob. ‘You only have to turn the news on and there’s yet another report of a police officer charged with a sex offence. Public trust in us is at an all-time low but Jacob – no way. He’s always been respectful and never discriminatory. He is not one of the bad apples and I’m going to prove it, even if it kills me.’ Turning back, she saw O’Connor swallow.

‘No, guv. He’s not one of them.’

They both wanted to believe that so badly but that niggle in the back of her mind was turning into a thumping pain. Sullivan’s heels clipped down the corridor. Gina and O’Connor stood straight, as if conditioned by her presence.

‘Harte and O’Connor. I have news. Unless something big comes up before teatime today your colleague, Jacob Driscoll, is set to be charged for the murders of Robbie Shields and Sienna Moorcroft. He is also set to be charged with the two previous attacks. Just thought I’d let you know.’

---