Jane Renshaw - Watch Over Me

‘Oh my God. So…’

‘Seems that when the shit hit the fan and it came out Neil had been murdered et cetera, Jasmine told her mum she’d seen this guy at your gate on the morning of the murder, and the mother tells her to keep quiet and not get involved. Said it was probably your lover, your accomplice. But I put the girl straight. And she’s done the right thing at last, been and made a statement and even picked Ryan Johnson out of a photo line-up, although he was wearing a disguise when she saw him – long curly blond wig in a ponytail and sideburns. Teenage girls might be the most bloody annoying sector of the population, but at least they can be counted on to notice every detail about a good-looking guy. In particular, in this case, thick black eyelashes and a tiny scar at the side of his right eye. She got a good close look – was walking past him on the pavement when he was opening your gate. Oh yes, she’s going to be our star witness, no doubt about it.’

‘What with the CCTV evidence and Jasmine’s statement, the procurator fiscal considers there are grounds for a warrant to search the Johnsons’ house again,’ said Charles. ‘Hopefully they might find physical evidence connecting them to the crime scene. Something stolen from your house, for example.’ He was practically bouncing on his chair. ‘But even without anything like that… Flora, you’re getting out of here. The evidence we’ve already got is strong, and now the police are seriously focused on the Johnsons, they’re likely to uncover more… You’re getting out of here.’

I’m raging so I am. ‘Disguise, is it? Fucking disguise?’

Ryan takes a swally Coke. We’re in the KFC round from the scheme. ‘Dinnae have a cow, Maw. Fucking photy line-up? Brief’ll pick that to pieces in three fucking seconds. And alibi’s fucking solid.’

‘Aye son, but the bitch was that confident. Her brief and that fucking PI have telt her her conviction’s unsafe and she’s getting out.’

‘Aye, that’s briefs. Fucking warrant, is it? Aye, be my guest, gents. They’re no gonnae find nothing in the house.’

‘You sure of that, son? It’s your Da and Travis and Connor we’re talking about here. Who’s to say one of they fuckwits hasnae stashed away something incriminating?’

‘Like what?’

I take a bite of my Big Mac. ‘Who the fuck knows? We’re lighting it, son. Petrol through the letterbox. There’s no shortage of candidates will be in the frame for an arson attack, eh? And then yous are outta here. Me and Bekki’ll have to wait till the adoption’s through, but the rest of yous is on that fucking boat and off to Sunny Fucking Spain, right?’

Ryan’s set us all up with new identities and that. And a bastard with a boat so we willnae have to present our new passports at customs.

But he’s no a happy bunny. He doesnae like it when we’ve to switch to Plan B. He’s a Plan A kind of guy.

‘Right, son?’

‘Aye, Maw, right.’

Flora couldn’t help it. Before Caroline had even sat down, she was asking her: ‘You told her? You told Beckie?’

Caroline shrugged out of her coat. ‘Yeah, sorry Flora, she’s… She’ll come round, I’m sure she will, she probably just needs time to digest it all, you know?’

‘She won’t know what to make of it all. If I could only talk to her…’

‘I know. I’m working on it, trust me.’

‘Sorry, it’s just – everything suddenly happening, and I just need to see her, I need to reassure her that everything’s going to be fine. Because it really is. Caroline – you’re not going to believe this, I can hardly believe it myself, but the appeal’s been accelerated, in view of the new forensic evidence, and Charles says it’s just a formality, I’ll be out of here in a week, two weeks at the most. It –’

‘Oh wow Flora, that’s brilliant!’

‘I know! I can’t believe it!’

‘What new evidence? Do you want a coffee…?’

‘No thanks. You go ahead though.’

Caroline shook her head. ‘Don’t keep me in suspense! What new evidence?’

‘Well!’ Flora wanted to jump up and move, walk, jump, run. Caroline was looking at her almost in trepidation, as if afraid Flora was getting her hopes up prematurely. ‘The police have searched the Johnsons’ property – not much to find in the house, obviously, it’s basically been wrecked by the fire and any forensic evidence that might have been in there’s been obliterated – but in the so-called garden they found a chain buried, wrapped in a boiler suit. And the chain matches the chain that was used to strangle Neil. Apparently there’s tests they can do to match the metal and the way it’s made… Anyway, the neighbours say they used a long chain to tie up their Rottweiler in the garden, after it jumped the fence and went for someone… But then the chain was replaced by nylon rope, right after Neil’s murder apparently. So it looks as if they used a bit of this chain, and the idiots buried the rest of it.’

Caroline blinked at her. ‘In their own garden?’

‘I know, stupid or what? But that’s not the best part. Ryan Johnson’s DNA is all over the boiler suit, along with Neil’s. It’s conclusive. My conviction is going to be overturned, and Ryan Johnson is going to be arrested for Neil’s murder!’

‘That’s – that’s amazing, Flora. I’m sorry, I’m in shock here…’

‘I know! Me too! Apparently there’s probably going to be compensation as there’s a question of police incompetence in that the initial investigation was incomplete, and Caroline, no arguments, I want you to have it. I want you to have the compensation money – you’ve more than earned it, you’ve been absolutely wonderful. I was going to ask you, though, for one last favour?’

‘Aye?’

‘There’ll be a period of adjustment for Beckie. I wonder if it would be okay if we all lived together for a few weeks, just until she gets used to having me around again? Would it be okay if I joined you in Bearsden?’

‘Course it would, that’ll be great.’ But Caroline looked shell-shocked. Not surprisingly. Flora had known for days that she was getting out, and she still couldn’t get her head round it. This was really happening! She was going to be back with Beckie! It was all going to be okay!

‘Oh, and we have to let the adoption people know that it’s not going ahead.’

‘I’ll do that. I’ll sort all that, Flora, don’t you worry. Just you concentrate on your appeal. That’s the important thing to focus on at the moment, yeah?’

‘I’m thinking we’ll probably move abroad. I can get a passport now – I’m going to legally change my name from Rachel Clark to Flora Parry by deed poll. I was wondering about New Zealand, where Pippa seems to have settled down with this new man of hers… But you’d still be part of Beckie’s life, I hope? You’d come for holidays?’

‘Ooh, New Zealand, eh? Try and stop me!’

I’m shaking so I am. I’ve got the case open on the bed and I’m shoving Bekki’s clothes in it, and she’s whinging on about they fucking wee trees, how she cannae leave them behind, and I’m going, ‘Aye, we’ll get they packed up and sent on, sweetheart, dinnae you worry.’ Aye right. Oh dear, looks like they got lost in the fucking useless Spanish post.

Now she’s going, ‘But why do we have to leave tonight?’

‘You know how Flora made you move house and get a new name and that, because she said we were bad people and you were in danger from us?’

Bekki gives me evils. ‘She never said that.’

‘Aye, but reading between the lines, eh? Well, she was lying through her teeth about that, so she was, cos how would we hurt a wee sweetheart we love to bits? You know what irony is, Bekki? Well, the irony is, we’ve having to do the same thing because Flora’s getting out of prison because she planted evidence on us and the police are thinking one of the lads killed your dad, and you’re gonnae see all sorts of shite on the net about that, but that’s all it is, right? Shite. Because me and you, we know she did it. She telt me and she telt you she killed your dad.’