I dont think thats likely, Linda said soothingly. Its a very extreme thing to do if all this letter writer wants to do is frighten you. Its more likely that its all just a horrible coincidence.
Oh aye? Gloria sat upright, her shoulders straightening. It was a classic Brenda Barrowclough move that signalled to Northerners viewers that it was flak-jacket time. And is it just a horrible coincidence that I was the last person to see Dorothea alive? If somebody had it in for Dorothea, there must have been plenty of other times they could have killed her without taking the risk that somebody would see them going in or out of the van. Or even walk in on them. The only reason anybody would have for killing her when they did was to make it look like I was the killer. You mark my words, whoever killed my friend has got it in for me an all.
There was a moments stunned silence. She has a point, I said.
So what are your lot going to do to protect me? Gloria demanded.
Linda just stared.
The short answer is, nothing, I told her. Even if they had the bodies, you wouldnt be a priority, on account of your poison-pen letters dont actually threaten to kill you. Thats right, isnt it, Linda?
Linda made a strangled sort of noise. I figured she was agreeing with me.
Right then, said Gloria. Ill have to keep relying on Kate. She gathered herself together. I suddenly understood the expression girding your loins. Gloria stood up and said, Come on, chuck. Ive had enough of this. Im distraught and I need to go home and have a lie-down.
She was halfway to the door when she looked behind to check I was following. I gave Linda a hapless shrug. Well need formal statements, Linda tried plaintively.
Call my lawyer in the morning, Gloria said imperiously. Kate, whos my lawyer?
I grinned. Jackson was going to love this. Same as mine, of course. Ruth Hunter.
The last thing I heard as the door swung shut behind us was Linda groaning, Ah, shit. In grim silence we marched out of the building. The sleet had stopped, which was the one good thing that had happened since lunchtime. Gloria swept straight through the mêlée of activity around Dorotheas van, looking neither to right nor left. I scuttled in her wake, trying to look invisible to anyone who might be tempted to alert Jackson. We made it to the car without a challenge.
Once wed got past the two bobbies working with the NPTV security men on the main gate, all the fight went out of Gloria. Her shoulders slumped and she reached for her cigarettes. This is an emergency, she said. Dont you dare open that bloody window. She inhaled deeply. You know I didnt kill Dorothea, dont you?
I pulled a wry smile. Youre an actress, Gloria. Would I know if you had?
She snorted. Im no Susan Sarandon. I play myself with knobs on. Come on, Kate, did I kill Dorothea?
I cant believe you did, I said slowly.
Thatll do me. So youll try and find out whos done this? Before he decides its my turn? Or my granddaughters?
Cliff Jackson, the cop thats in charge of this? Hes not a bad investigator. But hes been wrong before. Ill give it my best shot.
Ill sleep easier knowing that, she said, toking on her cigarette as if it gave life instead of stealing it.
Speaking of sleep Do you want to stay over at my place tonight? Im thinking partly of the weather and partly from the security point of view.
Gloria frowned. Its nice of you to offer, but I could do with being in my own space. I need to feel grounded. And I dont want to be under your feet. Youre going to have to get stuck into your inquiries tomorrow, and I dont want to get in the road.
I dont want to leave you on your own. Even behind those high walls. I thought for a moment, then pulled over to the roadside and took out my phone. A couple of phone calls and I had it sorted. It meant an awkward detour via the students union, but as soon as Gloria saw Donovan in all his hulking glory, she was perfectly happy for me to hoof it the mile across town to my house while she disappeared over the hills and far away with the best-looking bodyguard either side of the Pennines. The only question was whether shed still respect him in the morning.
I stepped out briskly. The temperature was plummeting now the sleet had stopped, the pavements rapidly icing over. Twice the only thing that saved me from crashing to the pavement was a handy lamppost. All I wanted was to curl up in my dressing gown with a very large amount of Absolut Citron and a smudge of grapefruit juice. With luck, Richard might be home early, preferably armed with a substantial Chinese. He always says Friday night is amateurs night out as far as live music is concerned. I could almost taste the salt and pepper king prawns.
I should have known better. Nights like that just dont get better. The man I suppose I love was home all right. But not home alone. I found him fast asleep in his bed, his arms around someone else. When I walked into the room, her eyes snapped open. She took one look at me and screamed.
Sensible girl.
Chapter 10
MERCURY IN VIRGO IN THE 5TH HOUSE
She can turn her hand to anything. She has a discriminating intellect but tends to be overcritical of herself and others in times of stress. She analyzes problems with tenacity and is capable of painstaking research. She is logical, skeptical and can be obsessive.
From Written in the Stars, by Dorothea Dawson
Divorce may have deprived Richard of most of the last five years of his son Davys life, but because a lot of his work is done at night, he did most of the daytime childcare for the first three. Thankfully the old skills hadnt deserted him. That meant I didnt have to take any responsibility for the most remarkable child on the planet (if you believed Alexis and Chris). I watched with a mixture of relief and astonishment as he spooned greyish-pink mush into the eager mouth of his nine-month-old girlfriend. He managed it almost without looking, and without ever breaking off in mid-sentence. Hed already changed a nappy without flinching, which was a long way away from my idea of getting the day off to a good start.
I remember when northern men would have died rather than admit they knew how Pampers worked. Now, they pin you to the wall in café bars and tell you its possible for men to produce tiny amounts of breast milk. Certainly, Jays arrival had already achieved the seemingly impossible task of ending the superficial hostilities between Alexis and Richard. Before Jay, Alexis maintained she was a real journo and Richard a sycophant; Richard that he was a real journo and Alexis a police lackey. Work never entered their conversations any more.
As he did about once a week, Richard had taken Jay for the night to give Chris a chance at a straight eight hours. Oddly, when Jay
So what are your plans for today? Richard asked as we sat in the conservatory watching wet snow cascading from the sky.
Ive got Donovan minding Gloria, so I probably dont need to go over there. Ive told him shes to stay indoors, but looking at the weather, I dont think therell be much temptation to leave the fireside. Im going to do some background research in the Chronicle library so I can start asking sensible questions about Dorothea Dawson.
Great, he said enthusiastically. You can take Jay in with you. I was supposed to drop her at the Chronicle crèche so Alexis can pick her up, but if youre going in anyway, I can stay home and get on with some writing.
Time for the application of the Kate Brannigan irregular verb theory of life. In this case, I am diplomatic, you are economical with the truth, s/he is a lying little gobshite. No problem, I said. Why should I mind drumming my fingers on the table while Richard finished feeding her, changing her, swaddling her for the outside world, swapping the baby seat from his car to mine then strapping her in? It wasnt as if I had anything important like a murder to solve, after all.
I eventually tracked Alexis down in the office canteen. Your daughter is in the crèche, I told her. Sos her car seat.
Thats great, she said. Ill bob along in a minute and say hello. We really appreciate it, you know. Its the only time we get a decent nights sleep. She been OK?
As far as I know. She screamed her socks off when I got home last night, but thats just because she cant stand any competition for Richards attention. So I left them to it. She probably had a better nights sleep than I did.
Alexis shook her head, smiling. I know you love her really.
She knew more than I did. I smiled vacantly and said, Dorothea Dawson.
She didnt see that coming, did she?
I love journalistic black humor. It always comforts me to know there are people more cynical than me around. Whats this mornings story?
Whats your interest? she asked, instantly on the alert. Her cigarettes came out and she lit one for real.
I found the body.
Alexis ran her free hand through her hair so it stood up in a punk crest. Shit, she said. The bizzies never said anything about that at the press conference. They said the body had been discovered by a member of staff, the lying gets.
Youre surprised?
No. Cliff Jackson would superglue his gob shut before he let the name Brannigan pass his lips. Unless the sentence also contained the words, has been charged with. So give, KB. A first-person color piece, thats just what I need for the city final. Her notebook had appeared on the table.
What are they saying?
That she was killed in her camper van in the car park of the NPTV compound by a blow to the head around six last night. And thats about all. What can you give me?
I sighed. It isnt exactly something I want to dwell on. I needed to talk to Dorothea about the warning shed given Gloria the last time shed done a reading for her. Id arranged to see her after her final client of the day. When I got there, I knocked but there was no reply. I knew she was expecting me, so I opened the door and walked in. She was lying face down on the table with her head caved in. It was obvious she was dead. Her crystal ball was lying on the carpet at the end of a track of blood. It looked to me as if thats what the killer used. Its much bigger than the usual crystal ball. It must be nine, ten inches across.