‘They’d landed on the glass dining table, there was blood, just everywhere and they looked mangled together inside the frame, all twisted and… I saw Dee and then Shane and then I think I screamed… or did I scream when I got inside or was that when I rang Nancy? I can’t remember that bit now… it’s all a jumble, then I was waiting on the front step for someone to come and, and you know the rest.’
Rather than face Magda who was sobbing again, or Nancy who was rubbing Molly’s back, she put her face in her hands and bowed her head, taking deep breaths that she really needed. No act necessary, because the sight of her sister’s staring eyes, looking right into Molly’s soul, would haunt and terrify her for the rest of her life.
Molly listened and kept sucking in air as Yates ran down what happened next, from Nancy arriving, closely followed by the police who she’d called before she set off, then Magda whowas in the village and saw the flashing lights head up the hill and instinctively sensed something was wrong.
Nancy confirmed that was correct.
From what they could ascertain from the scene, Yates surmised that after Magda had left, there had been some kind of altercation between Dee and Shane which resulted in the fall but they would await a full report from forensics before they drew any firm conclusions. It was then that Magda interrupted, startling them all with the ferocity in her voice and the words that left her mouth. None of them expecting what she was about to say, least of all, Molly.
‘You need to check his room. Get the safe he has hidden in there and break into it. Smash it with big hammer. I will get one from the garage. You need to look inside.’
Yates asked the obvious. ‘And which safe might this be and why do you think we need to look in it?’
‘Because he is a bad man. I know it. I have always thought it. He was horrible person to Julia. Cheating on her with everybody. He just wanted her money and I think maybe, he was… he was one of those evil men who like little girls because I saw him, watching Dee, always hugging, touching, being nicey-nicey when he is a fake person.’ Magda’s tears were forgotten now and in their place white anger, the gloves were clearly off and she meant business.
‘That’s quite an accusation, Magda. You know what you are insinuating, don’t you?’ Yates eyes flicked to his colleague who was furiously taking notes.
‘Yes, I do. But there have been things that I was not sure of before Julia died but since we lost her, I have thought about them over and over.’
Yates was invested, his body language spoke volumes when he leant forward. ‘What things exactly?’
‘Like I said before, too friendly, always whispering to her and once,’ Magda looked first at Molly then to Nancy, ‘I am sorry but I must say it.’ Molly saw Nancy nod her assent while she averted her eyes and looked at her feet.
‘I went to change the sheets in his room and under the pillow there was a bobble, for the hair, and another time I found socks, like what Dee wears all the time, they were under the bed. I thought it was strange but told my head that I was being silly woman. I didn’t know what to do.’
Molly heard herself groan as she put her hands over her face again to hide her shame and feign shock, and for added believability said, ‘Oh God, no… please don’t say… not Dee, he wouldn’t have.’
Nancy was enraged. ‘Magda, why didn’t you say something to Julia, if you were worried, why didn’t you speak out?’
‘I am sorry, Nancy, but I didn’t want to cause trouble when the atmosphere in the house was so bad. And it is a terrible thing to accuse someone of but now he is gone and I do not care but I wish I had said something, I really do.’
Another question from Yates. ‘When was this, can you remember?’
‘Yes, it was the week we had the terrible rain. The start of July. I remember because the tumble drier was never off and I was worried about the electric bill but I change the sheets every week so I had to use it.’ Magda nodded and dabbed her eyes. ‘The socks, I find them in January.’
Molly wasn’t sure about the socks, maybe Dee had been in Shane’s room, but she knew exactly when and why she left the bobble. It was the day they’d found the house empty and made the most of it. Julia and Dee had gone to Cheshire Oaks and Magda had a dentist appointment.
Usually Shane snuck into her room. He said it was more fun and he imagined he was her teenage boyfriend sneaking in whilethe parents were out. Now, it didn’t seem like fun anymore and he probably got a kick out of having sex with his own daughter in front of the shelf of photos of her and Ronnie.
That day, she’d taken Shane by surprise in the shower. The rest made her shudder and want to throw up. Then Yates made a request that broke that train of thought.
‘Magda, would you show us up to Shane’s room and point out where this safe is? We will need his laptop and phone, too, but my forensic colleagues can deal with that. I’ll leave you all in peace for a while now as I’m sure you’d appreciate some time alone. And once again, I am incredibly sorry for your loss. After losing Mrs Lassiter, this must be a terrible blow.’
Molly and Nancy nodded in unison and watched as Yates and Stone stood and followed Magda from the lounge and then headed up the stairs.
Once they were out of earshot and making sure any of the other on-scene officers were, too, Nancy spoke. ‘I’m so cross with Magda. Why didn’t she say something to Julia? If she had–’
Molly butted in. ‘Don’t, please don’t blame Magda. It’s more than a bobble on a bed. It’s about a man who was good at what he did and he’s been getting away with it for so long that, even if Magda had said something, he’d have slithered his way out of it. She loves her job here and loves us, too, and anything she did was for that reason. We need to stick together now, simple as that. Oh, and thank you, for not telling Yates what we were discussing at the park. I don’t want anyone to know about that. Ever.’
Nancy looked sheepish as she took Molly’s hand. ‘You’re right, about Magda, and I’ll apologise later, I promise. It’s not easy to voice concerns like that to anyone, no matter what warped thoughts go through our heads, which is why so many predators get away with it, I suppose. And you have my word. I will never tell a soul about what we discussed. I swear on my life.’
Molly smiled and squeezed her aunt’s hand.
‘Can I ask you one thing, before Magda gets back?’ Nancy’s eyes were beginning to fill again. ‘What do you think happened up there on the terrace? I’ve been going over and over it in my head and the only thing I can come up with is that Shane must have attacked Dee in some way, and she ran up there to escape. Do you think that they had a fight, and in the struggle they fell? I just can’t bear the thought of her being scared and dying that way, falling to her death like that. She didn’t deserve it, not Dee.’ Nancy began to sob and it was Molly’s turn to give comfort, pulling her close.
‘No, she didn’t deserve that, but maybe he did, and I’ve been thinking the same. What happened up there and why did they fall? I wish we hadn’t gone to the park, or stayed so long and that I’d run faster, got there sooner because then I might have prevented it. But we can’t change what’s happened and I suppose we’ll never know the truth. Not now.’
As she rested her head against Nancy’s and rubbed magic circles on her aunt’s back, listening to her cry tears for the niece who’d murdered her own mother, there was one thing Molly knew for sure. The past had been buried and Shane would never share their ugly truth. She would stick to her story and take all of it, including what had happened on the roof terrace, to the grave.
