Nine Lives by Anita Waller (best english books to read .txt) 📗

jotted late meetings in it so the other one could check if we weren’t home. My journal will probably be a big part of the evidence against her. Shit, Beth, it was awful this afternoon. I only knew of her identity seconds before we got to her. She parked her car near to where Sam and Mike were on surveillance, and they rang in the number plate for an ID check. She’d already turned into the garage site when they radioed to say it was a Francesca Johnson. The name didn’t click with either of them, and it was raining so hard we hadn’t been able to see much, so I hadn’t recognised her. She was dressed in black, hood almost covering her face. The shock hit me and I almost fell out of the truck to be sick. I was the first into the garage site and she was reversing the Fiesta out of the garage. Her face, Beth. I could see it on her face she was going to reverse into me and kill me.’

37

They hadn’t allowed Frannie to wash. The mud was all over her face, her clothes, in her hair, but they removed the handcuffs once she was safely in the interview room. Her night in the cells hadn’t removed the smirk from her face, nor the cockiness from her attitude.

Frannie smiled when they asked if she needed a solicitor. She said she didn’t need one, the case would only be going to court for sentencing. She continued to smile when they cautioned her.

They left her sitting on the hard straight back chair for ninety minutes, then Flick entered the room accompanied by Ian. Originally DCI Chambers, an officer from a neighbouring station brought in specially to oversee the case in Erica’s absence, had said he would do the preliminary interview, but after speaking with Flick had decided she should do it, in view of her closeness to the case. He would observe from the viewing room, stepping in if he felt it necessary.

Flick logged everybody in for the tape, and then opened her file.

‘Can I say something?’ Frannie asked.

‘Yes, but remember you are still under caution. And please be aware we can get you a solicitor if you should decide you do need one.’ Whatever this woman had done, Flick felt uncomfortable that she hadn’t wanted or requested legal representation.

‘I know. I really only want to say I have done everything you are about to accuse me of, that my wife had absolutely no idea, and no reason to believe the woman she was chasing was me.’

‘Thank you. That will be noted.’ Flick wanted to say ‘we know that, you stupid cow’, but refrained. She took the picture of Susanna Roebuck out of her file and pushed it across to Frannie.

‘This is Susanna Roebuck, where we recovered her body. This isn’t where you left the body. Can you tell us anything more about this?’

‘Yes. I picked Susie up outside the university theatre. It was raining really heavily, and I told her to jump in the car, I’d give her a lift. She said she was waiting for Clare, her friend, so could we hang on a minute, and she got in the front seat. I injected her immediately with Propofol and drove away. I couldn’t kill two people at once, I didn’t have a second syringe.’

‘You knew Susie prior to that night?’

‘Yes, I used to chat to them both after they’d been to the gym. In The Coffee Pot. We got on really well, especially after I told them I had a wife. They were in a relationship, you know.’

‘What happened after you’d injected Susie?’

She passed out almost immediately. It was a dreadful night, and I wanted to get as close to the River Porter as I could. That was the place I had chosen to honour their beauty.’

‘Go on.’

‘I drove her to the pocket park and left the car in the car park. I strangled her there, in the car, because there was nobody about. I carried her to the pocket park steps, and undressed her there, rested her against one of the uprights for the railings. I carved a V into her hand and snipped off the tip of her little finger. The river was so noisy, like a great roar. My lovely little summertime Porter certainly had her winter head on that night. I posed her, beautiful Susie, so that everyone could see what I could see. Her nakedness was her beauty. I bent to collect her clothes to put them in the bag with her little fingertip, and she slipped sideways and into the river. I followed her to try to get her back, but she’d gone, downriver. I climbed out wet through, gathered everything together and went back to my car. It was extremely disappointing.’

Flick suppressed the shudder. ‘I bet it was. What did you do once you’d returned to the car?’

‘I got in and closed my eyes for five minutes. Relived it, so to speak. It’s a massive turn-on, being with a beautiful young dead body, you know. Then I got out, went in the boot, and found a dry pair of jeans and jumper. It was a struggle getting changed in the car, but I couldn’t go home to Erica wet through.’

‘And what was the colour of the dry jumper?’

For the first time Frannie looked surprised. ‘Red, I think.’ She reached across and pulled the picture of Susie towards her, and Flick deftly pulled it back, removing it from her gaze.

She took out the picture of Clare Vincent, and once again Frannie smiled, reliving the moment in her mind.

‘The lovely Clare.’

Flick replaced the picture in her folder.

They went through the full gallery of victims with Frannie, finishing with Victoria Urland.

Flick was feeling sick. The depravity of the woman was obviously being allowed out for the world to see; she could finally be herself, instead of having to pretend to be a career woman with social services, the