‘I’ve just had that nice superior officer of yours, DCI Church, here, giving me advice about how your mother and I should take precautions following on from your press conference.’
Jane was surprised, and concerned for her parents. Church hadn’t mentioned he’d be speaking to them.
‘What did he say? Was Mum OK?’
‘Your mother was out, so it was a private conversation between him and me. He said for me not to get anxious but they were keeping an eye on you, and he gave me some general advice about our own home security, “just to be on the safe side” were his exact words.’
‘He should have spoken to me first.’
‘How bad is all this, Jane? I mean, I don’t want your mother being made even more anxious. She’s been in a terrible state since the bombing and I daren’t let her near a newspaper… you’re front-page news in all of them.’
‘It’s not that bad, Daddy. Church and the others are just being overprotective. Besides, I’m stuck in a lab at Woolwich which is guarded by MOD police, so I’m perfectly safe.’
‘I’m sorry if I overreacted, dear. I’m sure you would have contacted me if you were worried about your safety.’
Jane knew it was the last thing she would do under the present circumstances. She quickly changed the subject and told him about her interview with Pearl Radcliff. She relayed all the questions she had asked, and told him about the letters of recommendation.
‘So, is she moving in?’ her father asked.
‘Not yet. I just wanted to run it all by you first to see what you thought.’
‘I appreciate that, dear… but she’ll be sharing with you, and the most important thing is what you thought about her. Did you like her?’
‘Yes, I did. She’s quiet and unassuming, and spends most weekends visiting her parents in Southport, so she won’t be at the flat and getting in my way. She’s agreed to pay a deposit and a month’s rent upfront.’
‘Well, she sounds like the perfect candidate to me.’
‘I suppose so. I said I would call her tomorrow to give her my answer.’
‘You don’t sound very sure. If there’s anything you don’t feel comfortable about then keep on seeing more girls. You should always go with your gut instinct.’
‘I will. Thank you for all your advice, Daddy… I appreciate it.’
‘That’s what I’m here for, darling, and I love you. I’ll call you soon.’
Jane replaced the receiver. Her father was right. She was feeling strangely nervous, and put it down to the fact that she had hardly eaten at lunch and had only had a cup of tea with Pearl. But she didn’t feel hungry, just uneasy. She was not usually so incapable of making decisions and, as her father had said, Pearl did seem perfect. She just felt unsure for some reason, but couldn’t think why.
Jane went into the bathroom and cleaned her teeth, then splashed cold water over her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror as she patted it dry with a soft white towel. She looked very pale and had dark circles beneath her eyes. The terrible sense of panic overwhelmed her without any warning. Her heart started racing, and felt as if it would burst through her chest. She was struggling to breathe properly and started gasping for air, as if someone was squeezing her lungs too tightly. She slowly slipped onto her knees and grasped the edge of the washbasin. The sound of her own hysterical sobbing frightened her. She was shaking uncontrollably. Her head filled with the screams of the injured and images of the bomb blast: her hand on the terrorist suspect’s sleeve, his half-turned face, tying the tourniquet around the old lady’s shattered leg, the blood, the dust… and then the awful sight of the naked and vulnerable Regina tied down to a bed.
Every recollection felt like heavy blows to her body, and Jane curled up and wrapped her arms around herself to try to keep the images out. But they wouldn’t stop, and she was scared. She even had visions of Stanley on her staircase, the drive through the Blackwall Tunnel, and her yellow VW parked in the wrong space. Everything merged into a terrible, constant nightmare. Then there was the face of Pearl Radcliff, with her short hair and green beret, as if she was the epicentre to the nightmare.
Suddenly she had a flashback to the moment she saw the bomber, then the image quickly changed, replaced by the man in the surveillance photo, both images flickering in and out of her head like a blinding strobe light. The two men were completely different in appearance. In a rush of fear, she thought she could recognise the bomber if she saw him again.
Jane had no idea how long she had been sobbing for, and by the time she had calmed down enough to get to her feet she was drained and totally exhausted. Her whole body ached and she moved slowly out of the bathroom towards her bedroom. She had to keep her hand on the wall to steady herself as it felt as though she was going to fall again. Eventually she made it to her bed and lay face down. She was afraid to close her eyes in case the images returned. She was no longer sobbing, but tears were cascading down her face. Gradually the terror subsided.
Tonight, the horror of everything she had experienced had hit her with full force. She had been in denial, never allowing herself to show her fears and she now understood the cost of holding it together all day, and at the press conference. Anger drowned out the fear. Crowley had used her. She wanted to know why.
Chapter Nine
Jane had only had two hours sleep when her alarm woke her. After the torment of the previous night she felt strangely calm. She dressed quickly and applied some foundation and rouge to her face, then decided to mascara her eyelashes and use a little brown eyeshadow. She wore one of her smartest and most expensive suits, over a white clerical-collar shirt with starched cuffs. It was only seven thirty but she hoped she would miss the heavy traffic she’d encountered the previous morning with DS Stanley.
Before leaving, Jane put in a call to DCI Crowley at the Yard, but was told he had gone directly to Woolwich from home and wasn’t expected at the Yard until later. She then tried to call DCI Church. He wasn’t in the Dip Squad office but Stanley took the call. He sounded his usual groggy self and Jane was certain he had more than likely slept the night in the office again.
‘Everything all right?’ he asked.
‘Yes, but I wanted to ask a favour. I need a criminal records check on the girl who wants to rent a room in my flat. Her name’s—’
‘Pearl Radcliff… I’ve done it, she’s clean, no record.’
It took a second or two to sink in before Jane realised the obvious. ‘You’ve been snooping round my flat, Stanley. How dare you!’
‘I was only thinking of you, Jane. Besides, you’d have had to check her out anyway…’
‘That’s not the point, Stanley. It’s my flat, my belongings, and—’
‘OK, it won’t happen again.’
‘Too right it won’t, because I don’t want you coming round to my flat anymore.’ Jane put the phone down, seething.
She had miscalculated her travel time again, because if anything the traffic was even worse than yesterday. Her hopes of catching DCI Crowley before he returned to the Yard were looking slim, and she wondered if she should have gone straight to the hospital to see Daphne. By the time she had parked in the allocated area for assistant laboratory staff, it was after nine. She was pleased to see Crowley’s car still there, but vowed that from now on she would take public transport, rather than drive.