Michael Fowler - Secret of the Dead

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After learning from a neighbour that Kerri-Ann Bairstow hadn’t been seen at her own flat for the past fortnight, Hunter and Grace spent the morning driving around several of the council estates in Barnwell, banging on doors. Every time, they’d missed her by days — she had crashed down for a couple of nights before moving on. Finally, after two-and-half-hours of what seemed like a cat-and-mouse chase, they got lucky. At one address the female occupant told them that Kerri-Ann had left the previous evening and that she was in a bit of a mess — drinking heavily and not eating properly. In a drunken stupor, two nights ago, Kerri-Ann had rambled on about someone wanting to kill her, and the friend was really worried about her. She gave the detectives another address to try.

The bungalow at Oak Drive was registered to a pensioner. The front curtains were closed, but as Hunter neared the door he could hear signs of life inside — well, the TV was on, and he took that as a sign of occupancy.

Grace slipped around the back as Hunter banged on the front door.

He saw the curtains of the room window to the left twitch. A few seconds later, he heard raised voices coming from the rear before his partner shouted, “She’s round here Hunter.”

He found Grace grappling with Kerri-Ann Bairstow, trying to pin her against the wall. The girl was doing her best to squirm out of her black leather jacket in an attempt to get free.

Hunter grabbed hold of her arm and made sure she was going nowhere. Kerri-Ann’s bleary blue eyes burned with a mixture of fear and hate.

“Get off me, you bitch,” she screamed.

Her breath reeked of stale booze.

Hunter tightened his grip. “Kerri-Ann, calm down.”

After a couple more failed attempts to break free, she stopped struggling. “I ain’t done nothing. What’re you fucking ’arassing me for?”

“We’re not harassing you Kerri-Ann. All we want is a chat,” said Grace. “Now I’m going to let go of you. If you kick-off again, or try to do a runner, then you will be arrested.”

Grace and Hunter both released their grip. Kerri-Ann shook herself.

“I’m going to make a complaint. You can’t do this when I ain’t done nothink.”

“Fine Kerri-Ann, absolutely fine,” said Grace, “Come on. We’ll take you to the police station, and introduce you to a nice inspector, if that’s what you want.”

She scanned the two detectives’ faces. “Pair of fucking smart-arses.” She exaggerated the re-arranging of her jacket. “Anyway, what do you two want again?”

“How do you know it’s you we want to speak to? It might be Mr Thompson, who lives here,” said Grace.

Hunter stayed quiet. On their last meeting, it had been Grace who had broken down Kerri-Ann’s defences and persuaded her to be a witness in a recent murder trial. He was there in case she kicked-off again, or tried to escape.

“You ain’t here for Len, because he ain’t done nothing. I’m not stupid. I know you’re looking for me ’cos I’ve been texted by people.”

“Well then, you’ll know what it’s about, won’t you?”

She gave a long drawn out “No,” and attempted to look innocent.

“Yes you do Kerri-Ann, because for the past two weeks you’ve not been at your flat. In fact, we know you have been dossing around with whoever will put you up. Now if that’s not the actions of someone who’s scared or got something to hide, then I don’t know what is.”

Her face flushed.

Grace pointed at her bright red face, “You see Kerri-Ann, that tells me that you do know something. And I’ll tell you why I know that, shall I, because we’ve found your prints all over a friend of your’s bed-sit. A friend who has been murdered.”

Kerri-Ann stared at the floor.

Grace put her fingers under the girl’s chin and raised her face. She stared into Kerri-Ann’s eyes. “I think you and I need to have a little chat.”

Grace took hold of Kerri-Ann’s arm. She shook it away.

“I’m coming. No need for the rough stuff.”

Grace and Hunter exchanged glances. Then they followed Kerri-Ann to their car. She got into the back without any prompting.

Grace and Hunter jumped into the front seats.

Grace continued. “Look Kerri-Ann, please don’t make this hard for us. We know you’ve been a regular visitor to Jodie because for one you had a bit of a spat with one of the tenants. And we also know that you know something about Jodie’s murder.”

“I don’t,” she said sharply.

Grace leaned her head over the back of her seat. “Stop right there, young lady. This is not a game. For the past two weeks you have been avoiding someone and we know from talking to the people where you’ve been staying that you’ve been scared witless. In fact you told one of them that someone was out to kill you.”

“Big mouth,” she said.

“Maybe, but that’s because they care about you. Now I know you don’t see eye-to-eye with us, but you know from last time that we looked after you when you were our witness and we can do the same again. Your friend Jodie has been murdered. And the people who did it tried to make it look as though she’d overdosed. Jodie didn’t deserve to die and we know she died because she knew something, that she was hiding something. You don’t need me to tell you, because you already know what I’m going to say, those same people will find you and you could suffer the same fate unless you let us help you.”

“I don’t need no help.”

“Yes you do Kerri-Ann, because these people will stop at nothing until we put them away. And the only way we can put them away is with evidence.” Grace paused and let her words sink in. Then she said, “We need to know what Jodie told you — what secret she was keeping.”

“You don’t know what these people are like.”

“Oh, I think we do Kerri-Ann. And believe me, if you help us, I promise they won’t harm you.”

Kerri-Ann nervously picked at her fingers. She studied her hands for several seconds and then she looked up at Grace.

“Can you promise me?”

“Promise.”

She searched out both Hunter and Grace’s eyes. “It involves a cop you know…well an ex-cop. Well at least that’s what Jodie told me.”

“Go on.”

She lowered her chin and muttered, “She overheard something where she worked.”

“You’ll have to speak up Kerri-Ann, I can’t hear you properly.” said Grace. She reached over the front seat and tapped Kerri-Ann’s head. “Lift up and look at me please.”

Kerri-Ann raised her head. Tears had collected in the corners of her eyes. “Jodie didn’t do anything wrong. She was the bestest mate you could wish for. She got me off heroin you know.”

“That’s what friends are for, Kerri-Ann, there to look after you. Now it’s your turn to return the favour.”

“But I’m shit-scared about these guys. They don’t mess about, you know. And what’s to say, ’cos it’s one of your own, you won’t protect him?”

“Do you think if we wanted to protect him we’d be going to all this trouble to find you and offer to look after you?”

She shrugged.

“Think about it, Kerri-Ann. We want to put the people who killed Jodie away. I can assure you of that.”

Kerri-Ann first looked at Grace, then at Hunter.

He nodded his head in assurance.

She said, “I only know what Jodie has told me. I didn’t hear or see anything myself. In fact, now I wish she hadn’t told me. If she’d have just kept her mouth shut, she might not be dead.”

“When you say if she’d have kept her mouth shut, do you mean her telling that journalist?”

Kerri-Ann’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “You know about that?”

Grace nodded back. “I told you Kerri-Ann, we know a lot. We know she told her secret to a journalist, but we don’t know what that secret was.”