Little Boy Blue

60

Helen laid down her flowers and kissed the headstone in front of her. It was gone 2 a.m. and the driving rain raked the lonely cemetery, but still Helen lingered, pressing her forehead against the cool stone. She had been on her feet for nearly forty-eight hours, but was too wired and upset to return home. She would rather be doing something – anything – than pace her flat, and, besides, this was a duty she never shirked. Marianne was family, so every Thursday night after hours Helen came here, to tend her graveside and leave flowers for the sister she had loved and lost.

Offering a few final words of love, Helen turned and walked down the path. She had hoped a simple act of kindness, of remembrance, might dispel the darkness growing within her – but her conscience weighed heavily on her tonight. She had only just got back to base when Charlie rang. She was racing to the hospital, panicking and upset, and her news had hit everyone hard. Paul Jackson had been a decent suspect, but now he was fighting for his life.

Had they driven an innocent man to suicide? The press had to take some of the blame, but so did her officers. It would play hard on Sanderson’s conscience whatever the outcome, but it was ultimately her fault – the team was Helen’s responsibility and, in failing to identify the growing hostility between her DSs, she had committed an unforgiveable oversight. If he died, they would all have to answer for it.

Helen had reached the gates now and paused to look down over Southampton. It was a dark, brooding night, relentless bands of rain sweeping over the city, and the lights twinkled mischievously below, as if revelling in the dark deeds that go undetected at night. Helen instinctively felt that their latest thinking was right – that someone within the BDSM community was responsible for Jake’s murder. Samantha was potentially a good fit but, if so, why had she suddenly snapped? What had Jake done to provoke such savage treatment? And where was she now? As ever, there were more questions than answers.

The rain continued to sweep the hillside, but Helen didn’t move. She remained stock still, a lone figure lost in her thoughts, surrounded on all sides by death.