No Questions Asked (5 page)

‘And if he was still alive?’

‘Then I’d want it to happen again. He was a tortured soul, Mum. He’d lived with some horrific stuff from his childhood. He needed our sympathy not our condemnation’.

‘He groomed you through me, Kyle’.

‘If you want to look at it that way’ Kyle retorted. ‘I accept that it was against the law. But it wasn’t against what I wanted. I’m not one of those sad victims lost in the system. I’m here and I’ve got you. And I didn’t want to bring this up, Mum, but I overheard you telling Uncle Jeff the other night when you were both on the wine and all the stories were coming out that you had your first sexual experience at the age of fourteen with a man of twenty-eight. So why is what you did any different from what I did? You told Uncle Jeff that you’d never regretted it and didn’t consider the man to be a paedophile. So why is it any different for me, Mum? Why were you a young girl getting up to no good and yet I’m in need of a therapist? I love you, Mum, but please don’t be a hypocrite. My head and my heart are in tune with each other and I’m fine so no more therapy sessions. And now I’m going to see if I can get some more sleep’.

Kyle picked up his mug of tea and kissed his Mum as he walked past her on his way to the stairs. Annabel watched him go and wondered when her little boy who’d been so dependent on her had grown up into a young man who very much knew his own mind.   

When Jeff woke up he could see that the press paparazzi were in substantial number across the road outside Lucy Thompson’s house. He’d had a bad night with Toby who’d started wetting the bed again following his discovery of Bradley Thompson’s body. This was accompanied by a lot of crying and only Daddy could comfort him. That meant that Jeff hadn’t had much sleep and when Rebecca arrived at the house she could see it in his eyes straight away.

‘You look done in’ she said.

Jeff wiped his eyes. ‘I am’.

‘Toby?’

‘Yeah’ said Jeff moving closer to her in the hallway and lowering his voice to a whisper. ‘He’s in the kitchen with Brendan at the moment. He’s not showing any signs of getting better’.

‘Have you thought about taking him to see the doctor?’

‘Yeah I’m going to take him tomorrow if there’s still no improvement’.

Toby then walked into the hallway still in his pyjamas and dressing gown crying his little heart out. ‘Don’t go, daddy’.

Jeff leaned down and picked him up in his arms. ‘Oh Tiger, Daddy has got to go to work. But Brendan will be here and your Aunty Annabel too once she’s finished in the bathroom’.

‘Where’s Kyle going?’

‘Did I forget him? I’m a silly Daddy. He’s in bed at the moment but he’ll be down to play with you soon. And I’ll be home as soon as I can, mate. Until then I need you to be strong and you know that Daddy loves you so very much’.

Toby nodded his head and it broke Rebecca’s heart to see the little one’s tear stained face.

‘That’s my boy’ said Jeff who then kissed Toby and handed him into Brendan’s open arms.

‘Come on, pal’ said Brendan. ‘Let’s finish off your breakfast and get you dressed’.

Jeff was silent as he closed the front door. Rebecca felt somewhat awkward like she had done inside too. If she was going to be Jeff’s girlfriend then she should be helping him with Toby. But neither Toby nor Jeff had made any move to include her in their little world of sorrow and pain. She was going to be patient but she didn’t want to remain an outsider forever. She wanted to be part of Jeff’s life and that meant being there for Toby too.   

‘I want to help you, Jeff’ said Rebecca. ‘With Toby I mean?’

‘I know’ said Jeff who was holding back his emotions. The last thing he needed was to be pressured at this moment in time. ‘I know’.

Before they tried to make their way through the baying crowd they almost bumped right into Debbie Mitchell as she was leaving for work. She couldn’t help but take a swipe at Lucy Thompson before getting into her car.

‘How long is this going to go on for, Jeff?’ she asked.

‘Good morning to you too, Debbie’ said Jeff.

‘Yes, yes all of that but these aren’t exactly normal circumstances’ she pleaded. ‘It really is lowering the tone of the neighbourhood having all these people here all the time. And none of it can be easy for your little Toby. It can’t be helping him get better. Not to mention the fact that we’ve all been interviews by your colleagues as if we’re common criminals’.

‘It wouldn’t be like that, Debbie’.

‘Well that’s what it felt like, Jeff. You ask anybody and you see, I don’t want this to reflect badly on you. That really wouldn’t be fair’.

‘Do you think it’s fair that all these vultures should be trying to tear strips off Lucy when she’s grieving for her son?’

‘She made her bed long ago Jeff, as well you now know, and my contempt for her is beyond measure’.

‘I understand the personal aspect of this for you, Debbie, I really do. It’s all a real mess. But Lucy’s son has been murdered. Doesn’t that make any difference to the way you feel?’

‘Not when the father of that son could’ve been my husband’ said Debbie indignantly and then noting the look on Jeff’s face. ‘Oh hasn’t she told you that little bit yet? Funny that. Gary couldn’t conceal his suspicions any longer but then cowards always own up to their bastard children once they no longer have to be responsible for them. Apparently he never talked to Miss Thompson about it. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got a job to go to that doesn’t involve flashing my breasts at strange men in seedy nightclubs’.

‘Which charm school did she play truant from?’ Rebecca asked.

‘The same one that produces all the judgmental cows of this world’ said Jeff who’d been angered by Debbie’s cold-hearted viciousness. ‘It’s called infertility’.

‘Well it’s all over the press again this morning about Lucy Thompson, Jeff’ said Rebecca. ‘They’re absolutely pulling her to pieces. They say she was no better than a prostitute and that any number of disgruntled customers or members of the criminal fraternity who control these clubs could’ve murdered Bradley. One of them even said that if someone lies down in filth they shouldn’t be surprised when something in that filth gets up and bites them hard, not to mention that she was in bed with her married lover Gary Mitchell the morning Bradley was murdered’.

‘Where do they find all this stuff out?’

‘Somebody talks’ said Rebecca. ‘And their calls are answered with money’.

The press pack then started heading towards them. ‘What’s the latest on the investigation Detective Superintendent Barton? Could this be gangland related? Is it true that Lucy Thompson was claiming unemployment benefit whilst working at the Paramount club? Wasn’t something like this inevitable given the world she mixed in?’

Jeff was appaled. ‘The murder of her eleven year old son was inevitable? What kind of world do you live in because it certainly isn’t one I recognise even after all these years as a police officer’.

‘It’s one in which Lucy Thompson was once reputed to have been the lover of notorious Manchester gangster Bernie Connelly. Does that ring any bells for you, DSI Barton?’

‘We have absolutely nothing to add to what was said at the press conference yesterday’ Jeff stated. The man in him wanted to belt the smarmy faced toe rag that had just asked that question but the police officer in him resisted. ‘You will know when we do have something’.

Two uniformed officers were standing outside the front door to Lucy’s house and they stood aside to let Jeff and Rebecca in.

‘I want this entire street cordoned off’ said Jeff. ‘I don’t care what anybody says just tell them that’s what I want until they do it please, Becky’.

‘I suspect you are uneasy about the possible involvement of Bernie Connelly in all of this?’

‘You suspect correctly’ said Jeff. ‘And if he is involved either directly or indirectly he’s not going to get away with it this time’.

Whilst Rebecca was making the necessary call Jeff walked into the living room where Gemma, the appointed police family liaison officer was holding a visibly shaking Lucy in her arms on the sofa. The house was dark. Lucy had every curtain drawn closed. Not surprising considering what was going on outside.  

‘Can’t you get them to stop, Jeff?’ she pleaded. ‘Can’t you get them to leave me alone?’

‘They’ve been there all night, sir’ said Gemma. ‘Lucy has not been able to get any sleep to speak of. ‘It really isn’t helping’.

‘Well I’ve asked for the whole street to be cordoned off’ said Jeff. ‘Now Gemma would you go and make us all some tea? I’d like to have a chat with Lucy’.

Gemma gave Jeff the look of FLO’s who are cut out of the really important stuff and have to do all the dirty work. Not that Gemma minded as such. It was after all why she volunteered to be an FLO and it would look good on her CV. ‘Of course sir’.   

Jeff sat down beside Lucy filling the space left by Gemma. Poor Lucy looked an absolute mess. There were dark shadows round her eyes, her hair was hanging languidly round her shoulders and she hadn’t stopped shaking. She was clutching a picture of Bradley as if her very life depended on it.

‘He was all I’d got, Jeff’ she wailed. ‘He was all I’d got and now he’s gone’.

She became hysterical and started lashing out at Jeff with her fists.

‘I know, Lucy, I know’ said Jeff who thought back to the immediate grief he felt after Lillie Mae died and held her hands firmly until she started to calm down. ‘I know how this feels for you. It feels like your whole world has come to an end and nothing will ever heal. But it will. You’ll never get over this but in time you’ll learn how to cope with the devastation you’re feeling. I promise you that’.

‘I don’t want to cope’.

‘And I know that feeling too’.

‘I want Bradley back, Jeff’ said Lucy. ‘I never got anything off my mother except a birth canal to come out of. I wanted it to be different with Bradley. I wanted to be there for him and I wanted us to be mates’.

‘You were there for him, Lucy’ Jeff reassured. ‘You were a terrific mother and nobody can take that away from you’.

‘Why my son, Jeff? Why has life left me with absolutely nothing again?’

‘I don’t know, love but we need to find who did this’ said Jeff, softly. ‘And for us to do that you’ll need to be honest with me about absolutely everything. Do you understand?’

‘I’m not on trial’.

‘I know and I’m not trying to put you on trial’ said Jeff who had never thought for one second that Lucy could’ve murdered her son. She’d given her statement and that was it as far as Jeff was concerned. ‘I’m not like that bunch out there. I want to help you and I want to get justice for Bradley but to do that I’ll need the answers to some questions. Do you feel up to doing that?’

Lucy nodded.

‘Are you sure, Lucy?’

Lucy nodded again. ‘I want them caught’.

‘Lucy, is Gary Mitchell Bradley’s father?’

‘Yes’ Lucy confirmed. ‘Gary is Bradley’s father. But I never told my son that the Dad he’d always wanted was living right across the road’.    

‘And did you work for Bernie Connelly?’

‘You know I did’ Lucy answered. ‘He owns the Paradise club’.

Jeff paused and then said ‘I meant before that, Lucy’.

‘Alright yes I was on the game for him’ she blurted out. ‘I needed the money and he helped me’.

‘By putting you on the game?’

‘By doing more than any of my so-called friends did at the time’ Lucy spat back. ‘Sorry if that doesn’t fit into the usual image of the traumatised mother whose son has just been murdered’.

‘And do you really think that bothers me, Lucy? I want to find Bradley’s killer that’s all’.   

FOUR

      Adrian Bradshaw came downstairs to the sound of a kettle boiling and the smell of freshly made toast. But this time it wasn’t his mother who was doing the usual domestic duties for him and his family. He straightened up his tie and walked into the kitchen.

     ‘Well, hello’ he said.

     Kate turned round and smiled at him. ‘Hello yourself’.

     Adrian pulled her close in an embrace and they kissed.

     ‘I thought I’d make us some breakfast’ said Kate. ‘I hope you don’t mind me rooting round your cupboards?’

     ‘After last night you can root around all you like and anywhere you like, sweetheart’.

     Kate smiled. ‘We did kind of go for gold, didn’t we’.

     ‘We sure did’.

     ‘Not that I’m complaining’.

     ‘Me neither’.

     ‘Sex is wasted on the young’.

     ‘Well we’re not over the hill yet’.

     ‘And last night proved that’ said Kate .who was feeling on top of the world. They’d been out on a couple of dates but last night was the first time they’d slept together. And Adrian was fit in every sense of the word. He had stamina. 

     ‘But we’d best get on and eat though now because I’ve got to leave for work in twenty minutes’ said Adrian. He was nervous about the day ahead. His old team with DCI Sara Hoyland had been broken up following her departure to the European Crime Agency in Paris. It had been a fantastic career move for her and everybody had wished her well. Her deputy DI Tim Norris had used the opportunity to uproot himself too. He’d emigrated with his family to New Zealand and a transfer to the Wellington police. That had left Adrian and DC Joe Alexander who were both being assigned to the squad of Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton. Adrian already had something in common with his new boss. They were both widowers, although the circumstances in which they’d each lost their wives had been very different. But Adrian was also pleased to be going to the new team with Joe who’d become a trusted friend and colleague although he hadn’t trusted Joe with everything about himself.