Lynda La Plante: Hidden Killers

‘Do you know what time it is?’ she had said so loudly that Jane had come out of her room. Pam had very obviously been drinking as she swung the bag with her clothes that she intended changing back into and had to prop herself up against the wall.

‘I am only late cos I have been sick, I had a prawn cocktail at Norma’s.’

Mrs Tennison had shaken her head, and told Jane to get her sister some Bisodol for her upset stomach, and, looking ashamed, she had returned to her bedroom.

‘How much have you had to drink?’ Jane had demanded as she had helped her sister to the bathroom and taken off her coat.

‘Just a few Babychams, s’nothin’, but I stayed on dancing and didn’t get time to change back into…’ She hadn’t finished as she had started to retch and Jane had to help her to the toilet. As Pam had bent over Jane couldn’t believe that she was wearing a miniskirt so short she could see her knickers, and even more shocking, was that Pam was not wearing a bra under her silky frilly blouse.

‘You are not wearing your brassiere,’ Jane said in a harsh whisper.

‘Oh for goodness sake, get with it, I haven’t worn one for ages, nobody wears them now.’

‘Well, I do,’ Jane said, taking from the medical cabinet the pink Bisodol bottle and holding it out just as Pam was violently sick.

Jane took a bus towards her parents’ home in Maida Vale, stopping off at Pam’s salon, which was only a short distance from the family flat.

Pam was surprised to see her and Jane briefly explained that she was going on an undercover operation and needed to change her appearance. Pam made her wait until she had finished her client’s tint, and then said she only had twenty minutes before she would have to comb the tint through as the other hairdresser wasn’t in until later.

In the small back annexe of the salon there was a bag full of wigs. Pam explained that when they were training junior stylists the wigs were pinned to a head stand and would be cut or coloured. There were short bobs, long straggly blondes, and frizzy permed wigs, none in very good condition. Jane tried some of them on but they looked so false, until she put on a curly dark chestnut-coloured wig.

‘Can I borrow this one, Pam?’

‘Yes, but you’ll have to return it… that’s real hair. What else do you need?’

‘Do you have any makeup here?’

‘Yes, cos sometimes I’m in so early I don’t have time to do my face. I’ve also got a lot of samples as I do the makeup for the hair models when I’m doing one of the stylist events.’

Pam tipped out from a cardboard box an array of foundations and lipsticks, eyebrow pencils, liquid eyeliner and false eyelashes. Jane checked herself in a mirror, still unsure about the wig.

‘If you wait around I can do your makeup for you and comb out the wig and put some carmen rollers in it. You could do with a trim as well.’

‘No, I have to go, but another time. I really appreciate this.’

Jane eventually left with the wig and some of Pam’s spare makeup in a paper carrier bag. Pam had rather enjoyed helping and showing her how she could change her appearance, demonstrating how to stick on the false eyelashes. The sisters hadn’t even discussed how long it had been since they had seen each other, or how things were going with Pam’s new husband, Tony. A sixteen-year-old junior was sweeping up and washing around the basins; she couldn’t help overhearing Pam and Jane’s conversation. As soon as Jane left she asked Pam what it was all about. Pam tapped the side of her nose conspiratorially.

‘Can’t say, Cheryl, but my sister’s a police officer, going undercover.’

She turned away and returned to her client who glanced at her watch, indicating that she had been waiting too long.

‘Right, let me just comb this through for you, that extra ten minutes will give a better overall colour.’

If Pam had been surprised to see Jane, Mrs Tennison was even more so. She immediately thought something terrible had happened, and it took a while for Jane to calm her down and explain that she was only there for a quick visit as she fibbed that there was a patrol car waiting, and she just wanted to give her mum a hug and a kiss. Mr Tennison was out playing bowls, which was fortunate, as it meant that Jane could see her mother, get what she needed and leave. Her bedroom was always just as she had left it, and it made her feel quite emotional. Everything was neat and orderly, although that soon changed as Jane rummaged through her wardrobe and overhead cupboards.

‘Why don’t you tell me what you’re looking for, dear, and maybe I can help you find it?’

‘It was just a costume I had years ago, when we did a school play… and some things I had for a Halloween party,’ Jane said, standing on a stool and rifling through an assortment of her clothes in the cupboard.

‘They might be in Pam’s old bedroom… I put lots of things in there for the Salvation Army. There’s some of her clothes she doesn’t want in there as well. Daddy and I were going to drop them off but haven’t got round to it yet. Do you want me to look for anything special? Is it for a party?’

‘Yes, it’s for one of the officers that’s leaving… but don’t worry, Mum, I’ll go and have a look.’

Jane stepped down from the stool. There was no way she was going to tell her mother exactly why she needed to find the costumes.

Jane could not believe how many plastic bags were stacked in Pam’s old bedroom. Mrs Tennison started opening one after another.

‘Is it fancy dress, dear? Here’s that pair of thigh length boots Pam wore as Dick Whittington… they cost a lot of money because she bought them from Biba… they’re not real patent leather, and fit up over the knee.’

Jane and her mother sorted through old clothes, most of which were Pam’s and were things she wouldn’t be seen dead in now that she was a qualified hairdresser and ran the local salon. Jane selected the clothes she wanted and put them into an empty plastic bag. She hugged her mother and left her refolding and packing up the discarded items. Mrs Tennison wanted her to stay for an early dinner but Jane was eager to get back to the section house and try everything on.

‘I have to go, Mum, but thanks for all your help.’

‘Well, I hope it’s a fun party, dear… Daddy and I will get all these other things to the Salvation Army… not that I think any of their people would want to wear some of Pam’s clothes. She used to worry me so much… all those flared trousers and skimpy tops.’

‘Bye, Mum.’

Jane stuffed the wig and makeup into the same bag as the clothes and left her mother still packing everything else away.

By the time she returned to the section house it was almost 6 p.m. On her bed she laid out a miniskirt, a sequined stretch boob tube, a maroon padded bra, a pair of fishnet tights and the awful fake patent leather boots. She had also taken a frilly blouse, some blue plastic hooped earrings and an array of bangles and beads. Jane brushed the dark auburn wig to get some of the tangles out, then pinned back her own hair and pulled the wig on. It hung down to her shoulders and, looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t believe how different it made her appear. She put on the frilly blouse and then discarded it for a red boob tube, pulling it down to put on the padded bra and eventually showing a lot of cleavage. She smiled, thinking how her mother would have had a heart attack if she could see what she looked like.

After Jane had pulled on the fishnet tights and zipped up the leather miniskirt, she had to stand on a chair to see herself in the sink mirror. She decided against the miniskirt and tried on a pair of dark green velvet hot pants instead. Climbing back onto the chair to check the outfit, she had a déjà vu moment. When she had first started her probation at Hackney, there had been the wretchedly sad investigation into the murder of a young prostitute called Julie Ann Collins. It was strange for Jane to recall how she had reacted when she had first seen the Polaroid crime scene photographs of the murdered girl. The seventeen-year-old Julie Ann, a heroin addict, had been wearing boots and hot pants when her body had been discovered.