‘You’re on fire!’
Tracy patted at the flames on her dress and she felt a blast of cold water as someone emptied a bottle of water over her. She lay with her arm across Scruffy as the flames disappeared and turned her face to cough and clear her lungs.
‘Nanny?’ She looked up to see Jackson standing the other side of the fence, the young mum holding him back. His terrified eyes filled with tears.
‘It’s all right, Jackson’ Scruffy had gone quiet and Tracy feared that he was dead beneath her coat. Then she heard him whimper and she had a sudden urge to cry with relief, but she dreaded lifting her coat to see what he looked like. Tracy made a call to Jeanie and told her what had happened.
‘What about you? Are you okay?’
‘I don’t know what to do about Scruffy. He’s really badly burned.’
‘There’s a police vet service. I’ll call them for you. I’ll see you back at your house. You sure you’re all right, Tracy?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘On second thoughts – stay there. I’ll come and get you.’
The pet ambulance came to pick up Scruffy, who had been whimpering non-stop. He was still wrapped in Tracy’s coat. She was shivering in the cold. Her hand ached. It was only when she looked at it that she realized it was burnt. Blisters had formed and burst and the peeled skin was weeping.
Tracy looked up to see Jeanie walking across to them. There was still a handful of women but most had left and taken their kids away. The smell and sight of Scruffy on fire was not easily dealt with.
‘What happened – do you know?’
Tracy shook her head. ‘Jackson and I were on the swing, he fell off my lap and bumped his head and then the next thing everyone was screaming and Scruffy was on fire. Who could have done a thing like that?’ Jeanie shook her head.
Jeanie shook her head. ‘Kids’ idea of a sick joke. Or someone off their head on something.’ She looked at Tracy’s hand. ‘We need to get that dressed.’
For once, Tracy didn’t object.
Jeanie took Tracy and Jackson up to A&E and they waited for an hour in Casualty for Tracy to be seen. Jeanie went to get something for Jackson to eat whilst they hung about. She bought him a drawing book. He sat down on the floor of the waiting room and drew a picture. Jeanie could see the yellows and reds and she didn’t need to ask whether that was Scruffy in the middle. Poor Jackson was going to have to get past another trauma. Jeanie wondered if it would set them back. They would have to pray Scruffy survived.
Tracy came back with her hand bandaged and instructions to come back in two days for her dressing to be changed. Jeanie drove them both home. The atmosphere in the car was pensive. Tracy had a million things on her mind – none of them nice.
‘Is Jackson okay – he’s very quiet?’ Jeanie asked. Tracy looked behind her at Jackson on his booster seat.
‘He’s fast asleep.’
‘I have to talk to you about something, Tracy. There’s been another woman’s body found.’
‘Oh God.’ Tracy looked across at Jeanie.
‘It’s not Danielle but there is something I need to show you.’ Jeanie reached inside the glove compartment and pulled out a small brown crime scene bag. ‘Have a look at what’s inside. Do you recognize it?’
Tracy anchored the bag using her bandaged left hand and opened it with her right. Jeanie heard her gasp.
‘It’s my bracelet.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course. Without a doubt. All of these charms mean something to me. I gave this bracelet to Danielle. Where did you get it?’
‘We found it on the woman’s body this morning.’
‘Then it must be Danielle.’ Tracy couldn’t keep the anguish from her voice.
Jeanie replied calmly. ‘No. It isn’t.’
‘Then why? How?’
Jeanie shook her head. ‘We don’t know but it’s a message from Hawk. That’s what we call him.’
In the gloom of the car Tracy was wide-eyed and whispering so as not to wake Jackson. ‘What kind of a message? What’s he saying?’
‘We think you should do a television appeal. Would you be up for it, Tracy? You don’t have to.’
‘What would it achieve?’
‘I think you’re caught in this triangle that the killer has created. He’s calling all the shots at the moment. If we put you on television and present him with a scenario, that’s out of his control.’
‘What would I say?’
‘Leave that to us. Analysts are studying the phone calls and then we will decide.’
Tracy was thinking it over but she knew she had to do it. ‘Okay.’
‘Thanks, Tracy. I’ll let you know when it will be; probably in a couple of days – it takes time to organize. You should ask Steve to come home, Tracy, give you moral support.’
She nodded. ‘First I want to see how Scruffy is doing. She took out her phone and dialled the number on a card. After a brief conversation she came off the phone. ‘He’s going to be okay.’
Jeanie was relieved.
‘He wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for you and the sacrifice of your coat,’ she said.
‘Oh well, I can always get another coat. I’m just worried who’s going to pay the vet bills for Scruffy. I don’t have any money to do it.’
‘Don’t worry. He’ll be looked after by the police vet.’
‘Thank you. They said he should be able to come home in a week or two.’
‘As long as he’s going to be all right in the end, that’s the main thing. Jackson will be happy to have him back.’
Once they’d arrived at the house, Jeanie made tea for Jackson. Tracy was restless.
‘I want to go and see Steve now and tell him that I need him to come home. Is that okay?’
‘Can you drive like that?’
Tracy pulled a big mitten glove over her injured hand. ‘Should be fine. It’s an automatic.’ She hesitated. ‘But – I don’t have to go if you think I should stay here, if it would be better for Jackson.’
‘No – you go.’
After Tracy had left, Jeanie gave a now wide-awake Jackson a snack and decided to have another session with him. She was aware of the ticking clock for memory recall with a child his age. She also needed to ease his mind about what had happened with Scruffy. She cleared Jackson’s plate and moved him in to sit at the lounge table. She took the puppet of Scruffy out of the bag.
‘Who’s this, Jackson?’
Jackson looked at it – his mouth turned down and quivered: ‘Poor Scruffy.’
‘Yes – this is Scruffy and Scruffy had an accident today, didn’t he?’ Jackson nodded. ‘But do you know what, Jackson? He is such a strong little dog that Scruffy is doing very well and should be back here very soon.’ She counted seven with him on his fingers. ‘Then we’ll have to look after him, won’t we?’
Jackson nodded. Jeanie wiped his eyes and nose.
‘Okay, Jackson you don’t need to worry now. And who’s this?’ She pulled out the next puppet, the small blond boy.
‘Jackson.’
‘Good boy. Yes, it’s Jackson and Scruffy. Here…’ She put the two together on the table and put her hand back into the bag. ‘See Jackson and Scruffy are playing together?’ He wasn’t listening. ‘Jackson… listen to me a minute…’ He was distracted. His face had crumpled and big tears welled up in his eyes. He tried to get down from the chair and accidentally knocked the bag of puppets out of Jeanie’s hand and onto the floor. The puppet with the Daddy Pig face fell out.
‘Listen, Jackson. Who’s this?’ She picked up the Daddy Pig puppet.