Chapter 10 from Blood of a Rose

Steve sat in his office chewing the end of his pen; his chair swiveled round to look out the window instead of facing the picture board of all the Rosehill Rapists victims. 

He’d watched the sunrise light up the sky with its oranges, yellows and pinks, filling him full of warmth.  Sunrise was his favourite part of the day.  Steve found it so relaxing to watch how each morning entered the world more beautiful than the last.  Steve just wished he had a better place than his office to watch it from.  He visualized a picturesque seaside house with a huge bay window, which lead from the bedroom onto a terrace where he would sit watching the sunrise while enjoying his coffee and croissants.  And who better to enjoy it all with than Emma, the only thing more beautiful than the sunrise itself.

She was most likely asleep in bed now.  Probably with Dave lying beside her, holding her in his arms.  He hated that thought.  If only he had met her first.  If only he didn't have to play the tough Detective, she might feel the sam e way he did.  He wished that he were with her today.  He would drive her out to the country, away from all this hustle and bustle; they'd have a picnic.  It would be wonderful, if only it could happen.  Well, there was no harm in dreaming.  Except the fact that it made you feel so damn miserable!

There was a knock on the door, bringing him out of his daydream.  Angry and disappointed, he swiveled his chair back round to his desk and yelled, "Come in."

Colin's face appeared at the door.  "There's been another murder!"  He said.

Steve grabbed his coat and headed for the door.  "Any idea who it is yet?"

"No, not yet, Sir."

"Where is it?"

"Melrose Gardens.  Don't know how he managed it Sir, they've got a neighbourhood watch scheme going on but no one saw a thing."

Melrose Gardens, now that rang a bell? He thought.  And then he said, "Neighbourhood watch is only for nosy neighbours who've got nothing better to do with their time than spread gossip.  Obviously the nosy ones are away on holiday."  He headed out the door to his car.

                             * * *

While driving out there, he wondered why the murderer had chosen Melrose Gardens to do his next grisly murder.  It was miles away from the last five.  He was excluding the one that was out by Sproughton.  He decided that maybe, in a way, that one had been accidental. 

As he turned off Aberdeen Way into Melrose Gardens, he realized why he'd recognized the name; he’d been out here with Mary before.  She had some stuck up friends out this way.  It was that dinner party with the Catterwells.  He remembered now, how they'd left half way through dinner.  Of course, it was entirely his fault.  If he remembered rightly it was something about jobs. 

Mary had brought up how she didn't like him working in the police force.  The husband had offered him a job with his company.  It was like she'd planned for all it to happen.  He knew how she felt, but he loved his job.  He’d trained for years to get where he was today and he wasn’t going to give it up just like that.  She couldn’t understand it, she never would.  They then began arguing, and he'd dragged her home.  A great end to an equally great dinner party!  And that was start of their break up. 

As he drove through the blockade of police cars he could see the body.  A large blanket covered it.  Obviously one of the residents who had found it had covered it over. 

He got out of his car and walked over to it.  One of the officers joined him.  "She's in a bad way Sir.  No fingers, no teeth, and she's been cut about a bit especially on the face.  I've kept all the neighbours away.  The only one who's seen her is Mr Pentney.  He was packing his car, getting ready to go on holiday with his family."

As Steve pulled back the blanket his heart leapt into his throat.  He couldn't believe it, it was Mary.  His Mary.  He wasn't expecting that one!  He felt like he’d taken a bullet to the chest.  Why Mary?  Why of all people did it have to be Mary?  His legs were trembling.  He backed up, away from the body to his car and leant against it.  He looked up the road.  There was her car.  The battered, blue Ford Escort that he’d bought Mary as her first car.  Spending so much money in repairs because it meant so much to her but never being able to trade it in for a newer model.  Why hadn’t he noticed it when he pulled up?  What was she doing here?  Where were the boys?  He had to see his boys.

"What's wrong sir?"  The young officer said.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

"That's my ex-wife."  Steve said, with tears welling up in his eyes.  "Look I've got to find out where my boys are.  I've got to see if they’re all right.  Call Detective Nick Fisher to do the paperwork on this one.  He's been helping on the case; he'll know what to do.  I'll look at it when he's finished.  Tell him we've got a positive Id. on it and I already know who it is.  Tell him who it is and he'll understand.  Also, that Escort over there is hers.  Have it shipped to the station, and give it a good going over.  I'll see you at the station later." 

He got in his car, drove over to Mary’s house.  He rang the doorbell but there was no answer.  Then he realized this was the weekend the boys were at his mother's.  He'd been so wrapped up with his work he'd forgotten that he was supposed to be over there for Sunday lunch.  Well he wouldn't miss it, but he didn't think he'd want it either.  He started the car and drove off.

                             * * *

As he headed up St Johns Road and parked his car he wondered what he was going to tell the boys.  He walked up to the door and rang the bell.  The curtains were pulled back in the lounge and the boys waved at him.  They were still in their Pyjamas.  He could hear them shouting, "Get up Gran, it's Dad!"  They sounded so happy, and here he was about to ruin their day.

The door opened.  "Your here early love?"  His Mum said, puzzled.  Then she noticed that he was upset about something.  “I’ll go and put the kettle on.” 

As he walked in the boys ran up and flung their arms round him.  They started talking in unison about totally different things.  Things that had happened at school that week.  Things that they had done with their Mum.  It was hard to understand what either of them was saying at the best of times, let alone now.  "Okay!  Okay!"  Steve said, "We'll talk about this in a moment.  Can you go and get yourselves dressed, your Gran and I have something to discuss."

"Okay Dad."  They said, again in unison, and together they ran upstairs.  He watched them go upstairs.  They were only eleven and twelve.  Scott the twelve year old had been a difficult birth.  It seemed like hours before he'd come into the world.  Ross was a lot easier, one push and he was there.  So it had seemed.  Mary had told him that it was a lot harder than it looked. 

He really wished that he didn't have to tell them this.  He wished that Mary would come through the door and say that it was all a joke to try and get him to give up his job.  He wished it would go away, that he’d wake up and it would just be a dream.

"What's wrong dear?"  His Mum said.  She wasn't a typical grey-haired granny.  She had her hair in a short, cropped style, wore jeans and sweaters, and had more life than he could ever imagine.  Although she was sixty-four, she acted like seventeen sometimes.  He was proud to have her as his Mum. 

He led her into the sitting room.  "You'd better sit down for this."  He said, sitting down himself.

She could see by the way he’d slumped down that he’d had the stuffing knocked out of him.  She looked at him quizzically.

"Mum, this is very hard for me, I've only just found out.  It's Mary, she's been killed."

"Oh Lord!  Was anyone else hurt?"

"No, Mum, it wasn't an accident.  She was..” How could he put it?  “She was murdered."

"Oh no, dear God no!"  She said as the tears started to fall.  She reached inside her dressing gown pocket for her hankie.  "Are you sure it was her?"

"I didn't know it was her until I got there.  Mum, it was awful.  I didn't want to believe it was her, but it was.  It was definitely her."  He started crying.

Then came a loud thud from upstairs.  The boys were fighting.

"What are you going to tell the boys?"  She asked.  "You can't tell them that Steve, they'll never understand."

"It's all right Mum, I think I've got it covered.  I'll tell them that she was involved in a car accident, at least until they are both old enough to understand.  There isn't a reason that they should know any different at the moment." 

He got up and walked over to her.  Sitting beside her, he held her in his arms.  "I need you're help on this one, mum.  You've got to be strong for me.  Strong for the boys too.  They're going to need you; this is going to be so hard on them.  You're the only grandparent left since Mary's Dad died last year.  And that upset them enough when that happened." 

"They can come and live with me, Steve.  Don't worry, I'll be there for them.  This is the best place for them."  She said.  "You've got a very important job.  I want you to understand that they'll not be a burden here."

They had talked about this before Mary's Dad had died.  And they had decided then if anything had happened to Mary or to the both of them, they would go and live with his Mum.  She was a lot healthier than Mary's Dad.

He wiped the tears from his eyes.  "I'll call them down, there's no reason to put it off."  And then opened the door to the room and yelled,  "Scott!  Ross!  Can you come down please, I've got to tell you something!"

They came thundering down the stairs.  They sounded a lot like a herd of elephants.  Ross was first in to the sitting room and sat straight on his Dad's lap.  "Dad!  Scott said that if I don't do as he says the bogie man will get me.  He won't get me, will he Dad?"

"No Ross, he won't get you because there is no such thing as the bogie man."  He wished he could be sure of what he was telling Ross, but after what had been happening, he was beginning to wonder.  "Okay boys,” Steve said, putting his arms round them. “Can you be quiet for a minute I've got something important to tell you."

"Why are you crying Gran?"  Scott asked.

"Listen to your Dad."  She said through the sniffles.

"Boys, it's your Mum.  She's had an accident."

"Is she all right?"  Scott asked, pulling out from under Steve’s arm and looking him the eyes.

"I'm afraid she isn't son.  She's...er.”  How the hell could he put it?  “ She’s…She's gone to heaven.  It was a very bad accident.  They tried to help her but there wasn't anything that anyone could do."

Simultaneously, they both started to cry.  Steve pulled Scott to him and hugged the both of them as tight as he could.  It was no use, he couldn't stop the tears from falling, and as his Mum joined in the hug it was even more impossible to stop the tears. 

Yet, unbelievably, still through all of this his mind wandered off track and he thought of Emma.  He needed to be with her more than ever now.

                             * * *

Emma felt relieved that she'd spoken to Dave.  It was like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  Even Jackie said that she had noticed that she seemed a lot happier, and having Dave call round to see how they were made them both feel that little bit safer. 

She had her quiet moments though, generally after one of the phone calls, and while in these moods she liked to disappear upstairs and hide away from everyone.  Emma always did her best never to cry in front of anyone, and upstairs was the best place to be when this was going to happen.  Nobody could see her there.

Emma still couldn't understand why this had happened to her?  The worst thing was that she had involved both Jackie and Dave, and now Geoff was starting to wonder why she hadn't come back to work.  She didn't want to involve him as well.  She hadn't really wanted to involve anyone, but it had just happened. 

Emma had needed Jackie around though; it would have been awful living alone and having to deal with everything that was going on.  She'd have been going out of her mind by now, with the thoughts of what had happened, so she was glad to have Jackie around, if only to keep putting her straight. 

Also she'd have gone completely mad waiting for the phone to ring, and even madder still when it did eventually ring, if Jackie wasn’t there to answer it occasionally.  Even now she was on edge, jumping each time it rang.  At least she knew that three times a day it would be Steve calling to check up on her and she’d try to keep him chatting on the line to avoid any other calls coming through.  Talking of calls, he hadn’t called her today to check up?  It was eleven-thirty and she hadn’t heard a peep.

Steve.  Now there was a strange man.  He'd come round quite often since she'd made a full statement, and she didn't think that it was just to make sure she was okay.  They'd spend many hours chatting when Dave wasn't there.  But then if he was there, Steve would only have a coffee and then go.  Sometimes he didn't even have a coffee.  Anybody would think that he had a crush on her, the way he was acting.  But he couldn't have, could he? 

He was a very handsome man, and she did find herself attracted to him, but she had Dave.

Dave was so patient and kind.  He understood that she just needed friends around at the moment.  Anyway, she was probably imagining things.  How could Steve like her?  He probably fancied Jackie.  Come to think of it, he’d always asked if Jackie was home when he came round.

Jackie and Dave were both at work today.  Dave was working all today and Jackie was working until three.  Sundays were always like that.  Especially since Geoff had started doing Sunday roasts.

Emma often wished that she was back at work, but the police had advised her not to go.  At least if she was at work she'd have something to keep her mind off the rape and HIM.  She was so bored at home.  There’s only so many times you clean the house and even that didn’t stop her thinking about the rape.  Even when she was deeply engrossed in a book or film she found that her mind wandered off back to the bloody subject.  It wasn't fair. 

The phone didn't ring as much as it used to but she’d always be waiting for his call.

She often found herself wishing that Steve would pop round and keep her company.  While in the midst of thought, there came a knock at the door. 

She looked through the peephole.  It was Steve, well, what a coincidence.  She opened the door, greeting him with a big grin, "Talk of the devil and he shall appear.  I was just thinking about you."  And then she noticed that he didn't look at all happy.

"What's wrong?"  She asked.  She'd never seen him this down before.

"There's been another murder."  He walked past her and into the kitchen.

"Do you want a drink?"  Emma asked, "You look as if you could do with a strong one?"

"Have you got any whisky?  A very large one would be good!"  He asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Sure, I think I might have one myself."  She said, feeling a bit puzzled.

There was a short spell of silence as she poured the drinks and sat down.  And then she asked, "Was it him?"

"Yes, it was him.  The white rose was left there as his calling card."  Steve said sullenly.

"Do you know who it is yet?"  Emma asked.

"Yes.  It's my ex-wife."  He just stared into space.

Now she was even more puzzled.  He hadn't told her that he was previously married.  Not that he had to tell her.  They'd had many conversations, but this had never cropped up.  She didn't know what to say, so she got up, walked round the table, stood behind him and put her arms round his neck. 

Steve couldn't believe what she had just done, but he didn't say anything because it felt so damn good.  He just gave a big sigh and closed his eyes.  He wished that she would hold him like this all afternoon.  Mind you she was a cuddly person and this was probably normal for her and meant nothing.  But being in her arms meant everything to him and his problems seemed to just disappear.  It was just like paradise.  Paradise came to an abrupt end, as Jackie walked into the kitchen.

Shocked, she asked,  "Emma can you and I have a word, in private?"

"I'll be back in a minute."  Emma said, and followed Jackie upstairs to her room.

Jackie shut the door behind them.  "What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing!"

"What!  You had your arms round him.  Don't tell me nothing's going on.  What's Dave going to say?"

She decided to keep her true feelings out of this one.  "Jackie, the man's just lost his ex-wife for Christ sakes.  I didn’t know what to say to him, so I just gave him a hug.  Besides Dave and I are only friends, I know he wants more but I can’t be sure what I want at the moment."

Jackie looked apologetic.  "I'm sorry."  She said, "I just jumped to conclusions.  I shouldn't have done that."

"That's okay!"  Emma said.  "I'm going back down now.  Could you leave us alone for a while?"

"Sure, no problem."

Emma shut the door behind her and infuriated at her friend’s outburst she went back down to the kitchen.  Steve was sat slouched in the chair, swirling his drink around in the glass.  She went over and picked hers up, and drunk it in one gulp.  Steve followed suit. 

"Why don't you stay and have something to eat?"  She said, wanting deep down in her heart for him to do so.

"Sorry, I can't."  He said, wishing he could.  "I've got to go to my Mums for tea.  She's got the boys, and I really should be with them."

‘The boys,’ she thought, ‘he’s got kids as well.’  And said,  "It's okay, maybe some other time?"

He could see the disappointment in her eyes so he said, "I'll tell you what, I’ll come round after I've put the boys to bed.  It'll be about nine.  Is that okay?"

"That'll be fine, I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping anyway so don’t worry about keeping me up.  We'll have a real good chat."