Behind Closed Doors (Season One: Book 7) (Jessica Daniel) (18 page)

There was a slight pause before the reply came: ‘Two days?’

‘Exactly. I’ll get the back door unlocked last thing Thursday so we can get straight onto it. No one wants to be messing around at that time of the morning.’

Jessica thought of the door she had seen when she had been outside looking towards the back of the house. On the tour, Heather had shown her where the kitchen was but she hadn’t been
inside. Now the floorplan added up in her mind. The fact the door was locked for most of the time was no surprise. From what she had seen from a distance, it didn’t look as sturdy as the
front door but it was something to bear in mind as an additional way to get out of the house if she really needed to. Doors were weak points and although she wasn’t as strong as she used to
be, she might have more success putting something hard through it, as opposed to attacking the reinforced, locked windows.

Jessica waited until she heard a clatter of snooker balls and then darted past the open doorway, walking briskly until she was outside Moses’s office. She stood next to the door, listening
for any hint of movement inside. The fact she was apparently ill would give her an excuse for trying to find him. She pressed down on the door handle but it didn’t budge. From what she had
seen, Moses wasn’t the type of person to leave the office unlocked and it wasn’t as if she had a good way of stealing the giant bundle of keys from his belt.

Remembering the open window, Jessica rushed through the empty corridors to the front door, which was bolted closed, even though Glenn and a couple of the others were still outside. Because it
had been unlocked when they re-entered the previous day, Jessica assumed it was only opened at certain times. She tried the nearby windows, which were locked, but knew she would not get many better
opportunities when the house was this empty and she could come and go without being noticed.

With the excuse that she was looking for either Glenn or Moses, Jessica acted instinctively, feeling that buzz of being at work that she hadn’t had in far too long. She opened the bolts as
quietly as she could and then slotted the door back into place after exiting. Knowing she would appear ridiculous if anyone was watching from a distance, Jessica ducked under the windows, hurrying
in a hunched position around the building, deliberately heading in the opposite direction to the path that Glenn and the other outdoor workers took to get to the back.

When she reached the rear corner, Jessica quickly glanced around to see Glenn strolling back towards the house with a pickaxe in his hand. She waited until he was out of sight and then dashed to
the window of Moses’s office, which was still open a crack.

Jessica poked her head up, peeking through the space into the empty room. After one final check behind her, she reached inside, unhooking the handle, and climbed in.

Her heart pounding, Jessica re-latched the window and started to look around the office. She was drawn to the clock on Moses’s desk, feeling strangely satisfied at seeing the digits
‘10.42’. It gave her a sense of self, knowing that if she’d been at the station, on a bad day, she would have just emerged from a multitude of morning meetings. On a good one, she
might have got through two cups of tea from the machine, spent twenty minutes chatting to Izzy and winding up Dave and, if they were really lucky, actually got some work done. She felt a little
lower when she realised she knew exactly what would be on daytime television, having done little but watch it over the past few months.

She was about to reach for the stack of papers on the desk when she heard voices in the corridor. At first she thought it might be the cooks heading away from the games room but she froze as she
heard the distinctive sound of Moses outside the door followed by a jangle of keys.

His tone was crisp but it was the scratch at the door that most filled her with dread. ‘Have you got your key? Mine’s stuck somewhere on here and I can never find the right
one.’

As she heard a key scraping around the lock, Jessica tried holding her breath but realised she would make more noise breathing out deeply than if she simply took lots of short,
shallow breaths in the first place. She pressed against the wood at the back of the cupboard she had spotted the first time she’d been in the office. Above her were shelves that could only be
reached with a ladder. Around her feet were boxes and plastic containers full of items she hadn’t had time to check before squeezing herself in. A jagged corner of one box was digging into
her thigh but the wood was so creaky that every slight movement would be heard.

The office door was finally pushed inwards and Jessica bit her bottom lip, trying to ignore the jabbing pain in her leg. She had heard Moses outside but now it was Glenn speaking, waiting until
the door was closed before complaining about how he couldn’t get anything done with everyone at the market.

‘You know why it’s necessary,’ Moses replied calmly.

Through the slit in the centre of the doors, Jessica could see them sitting on opposite sides of the desk.

‘What time is it?’ Glenn asked – a clear violation of the rules if anyone else had said it.

‘Quarter to eleven,’ Moses said, unperturbed. ‘What are the weekly numbers?’

Glenn reeled off a list of what they had planted and harvested that week. Jessica could hear the gentle scratch of a pen.

‘Will you need more people later in the year?’ Moses asked.

‘Yes but only send blokes my way. That new girl’s distracting.’

‘She’s not strong enough?’

‘That’s not it. Yesterday she dug a trench an hour quicker than I expected her to, even though I gave her a ridiculous timeframe. Some of the lads could learn from the way she just
got on with it. The problem was that every time I glanced her way, she was bent over with the spade. You know what men are like. Even with everything that goes on around here, they were still
stopping to peek in her direction. I’m pretty sure that’s what brought on the incident with Wayne.’

Jessica hadn’t thought of herself in those terms for a little while. The fact a group of the men had been admiring her from a distance was worrying in that she was living with them all,
although she couldn’t resist feeling a tiny twinge of relief that she wasn’t a complete turn-off.

‘What do you want to do?’ Moses asked.

‘Nothing for now. Zip said she’s not feeling well today but we couldn’t have got much done in any case. I’ll see what happens tomorrow. It might pass if they all start
seeing her as one of the lads. If not, you can always swap her out.’

‘Zip’s keen on getting her involved a little down the line. She says she’s got something about her.’

‘What do you reckon?’

Moses laughed as he replied. ‘Oh, there’s
definitely
something about her.’

Jessica assumed they were initially talking about Zip wanting her to be part of the recruitment team but shuddered as Glenn joined in with the amusement. Moses repulsed her and Glenn was so
unpredictable, she wouldn’t put anything past him.

‘Seriously,’ Glenn said eventually. ‘Are we thinking long-term about her?’

Jessica heard Moses exhaling loudly, mulling things over. ‘We’ll have to see. I’ve heard good reports about the evening sessions but I don’t know about the other things.
She looks the right type.’

‘So is it wise to keep using her outside? We don’t want her getting hurt.’

It felt strange hearing Glenn show what sounded like concern for her. Jessica wondered if it was because he thought she was causing a disturbance outside and trying to find a way to get rid. The
way he glared across the table at mealtimes certainly didn’t make her feel welcome and yet his question had sounded genuine.

‘For now,’ Moses replied. ‘We’ve got to give her something that keeps her interested. The whole point is for people to want to stay here.’

Glenn was drumming his fingers and didn’t reply instantly. When he did, it was a short: ‘Fine.’ After another pause, he changed the subject: ‘Does Zip have a shopping
list for later?’

‘Nothing special. A few bits of food and material. We have enough equipment for now plus people get suspicious of the cash. Everyone wants cards nowadays but that leaves a trail.
We’ll have to look into another supplier.’

Jessica had no idea what he was talking about but Glenn clearly did.

‘Is there any rush?’

‘You’d know more than me – it’s your area.’

‘In that case we’re fine, at least for now. We might have to have a rethink in a couple of months. Does Zip know how much cash to keep to the side?’

‘She should do by now. She’s the one always talking about money anyway, especially with things the way they are with the house. Those lawyers are expensive too.’

‘Okay, I’ll deal with it when the time comes.’

‘Good, I don’t want anything to do with it. This is your thing.’

Glenn laughed but the dynamic was different, as if he was the one in charge. ‘You can’t keep saying that. You’re a part of it the same as anyone else.’

‘I’m certainly not.’

Glenn stopped drumming his fingers and there was an awkward pause before he said sarcastically: ‘You keep telling yourself that.’

There was more silence before Moses eventually responded. ‘What about the rest of the greenhouse?’

‘It seems fine. There’s been a fair bit going on recently but I’m on top of it.’

‘And you don’t need anything for that either?’

‘Not at the moment.’

‘Good. How’s Naomi?’

Even hidden away, Jessica could sense an atmosphere. Moses was rattling through the queries but Glenn was taking more time to reply. This time Jessica could practically feel the force of his
voice.

‘What’s with all the questions?’

‘We don’t get to talk about these things very often.’

‘What’s your point? I’m not in here asking you about Zip . . . or Katie . . . or any of the others for that matter.’

Now Moses’s voice had an edge to it as well. ‘Careful. This isn’t your house and they’re not your rules.’

‘It’s not your house either.’

‘Shall we ask Zip about it?’

She couldn’t see his face but Jessica knew Glenn was smiling. ‘Maybe we should – perhaps she’s got tired of all the girls?’

Moses sighed but he still didn’t sound outright angry. ‘I’m not getting into this and I’m not being spoken to like that. I’m simply pointing out that there
can’t be any further incidents like the one with Naomi at dinner the other evening.’

‘She knows. We spoke.’

Jessica didn’t think Glenn was the type to do much speaking when he had a problem.

‘She didn’t sound very happy,’ Moses said, not sounding particularly concerned.

‘Oh, she’s not,’ Glenn replied, with little concern either. ‘But it’s not as if she’s going anywhere. Zip’s taken her to market today, which will
probably cheer her up somewhat. She just wants to be outdoors now and then. When she was young, her dad was in the army and she moved around a lot. I don’t think she’s ever been in a
place as long as she’s been here.’

‘But she’s—?’

‘Yes, I told you – she’s not going anywhere.’

‘Anything else I should know about? Did our problem get away okay?’

‘Wayne?’

‘Of course Wayne. Who else would I be talking about?’

Involuntarily, Jessica shifted her leg, unable to take the pain of the box digging into it any longer. She winced, trying to straighten without making a sound, missing Glenn’s reply before
she finally managed to twist her body into a position that didn’t feel as if it was going to make her crumple forward.

‘Well, that’s one thing,’ Moses replied, answering something Jessica had missed.

‘He’s another on the list, like that Liam kid.’

‘Well, if they go around causing trouble, what do they expect?’

Jessica was poised, waiting for either of them to admit to killing Liam, perhaps even Wayne since no one had seen him after the assault in the gardens, but the reply she wanted didn’t
come.

‘That’s down to recruitment,’ Glenn said. ‘We should be more picky.’

‘Do you mean we should get more girls?’

Glenn laughed. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you?’

‘All right, I told you that’s enough. It’s not about whether they’re male or female, it’s about what they bring.’

‘I thought you didn’t want anything to do with it?’

‘I don’t but we’re both affected if Zip’s not finding the right people.’

Glenn shot straight back: ‘She’s your wife.’

‘Yes but she probably listens to you more than she does me. If you tell her to stop bringing back middle-aged men then she will.’

Jessica had no idea what they were talking about. The confirmation that Glenn had as much influence on Zipporah as Moses only enforced what she had seen with her own eyes but Jessica was
slightly surprised that Moses seemed fine with it. There was something between them, though, but Jessica couldn’t figure out if that meant they were killers. Even if they were, what could be
the motive?

Glenn muttered something about having a word with Zip but didn’t sound particularly keen. He seemed annoyed enough at having to deal with his own wife, so it was little surprise he
didn’t jump at the chance to sort out a problem with someone else’s.

‘Any more word from the police about that Liam kid?’ Glenn asked.

‘Why would there be? Everyone told them he had left. It’s not as if there’s anything else for them to work from.’

Jessica waited for a ‘we took care of that’, but again it didn’t come. Glenn started drumming his fingers on the desk instead.

‘Why haven’t I got an office?’ he asked. ‘There are enough free rooms in this place.’

‘What would you do with it?’

‘I’m not sure but it would be nice to have a clock and a calendar to keep track of things.’

‘You’ve got a key for here.’

‘It’s not the same.’

‘You know the house rules about electronics and gadgets. It won’t work if you’re walking around with a watch on.’

‘I know, I was just saying.’

Another pause as Glenn stopped drumming his fingers. Jessica’s back was beginning to seize up again. She scrunched her eyes tightly closed and clenched her teeth, trying not to move.