Taste of Blood

Chapter Two

Jane finished reading all the statements in the file. She made copious notes, and put together a list of suggestions about how they should proceed in the morning. Burrows came to tell her that Mr Boon was still unconscious but stable, and then Jane left the station, trying to block thoughts about Dexter from her mind. She still felt very raw inside but she couldn’t allow her feelings to surface until she had some time alone.

To distract herself she went food shopping on the way home. Eddie was parking his van outside the house when she drew up.

‘Hi there,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I’ve just got to unload some cans of paint I need for the morning. I’ll put them in the garden shed.’

Jane let herself in through the front door, went straight to the kitchen and then opened the backdoor. Eddie had built a small shed that dominated the garden, which he used for storing building supplies and garden equipment. Not that he actually did any gardening, as there wasn’t much of a garden, other than a flower-bed that she tended to at weekends.

Jane hadn’t been particularly enthusiastic about the shed, but Eddie claimed it would save him a lot of time by not having to go to his storage unit. There were numerous ladders stacked against it, which had been there for some time, as there were tiles on the roof that needed replacing. Jane had learned that Eddie’s best intentions weren’t always followed through, as he was constantly working, often even at the weekend.

From the kitchen window she could see him carrying large cans of paint down the small path at the side of the house. She started preparing dinner while Eddie made trips back and forth between the shed and his van. He appeared at the kitchen door to say that he was going to drop something off at his storage unit and would then be coming straight back.

‘How long are you going to be? I’ve got that pork with crackling in the oven,’ she said.

‘Fifteen to twenty minutes... Is that OK?’

Before she could answer he had closed the backdoor and had disappeared. She peeled the potatoes and put them on to boil, then filled the kettle with water for the fresh broccoli. She had bought the ‘meal for two’ pork from Waitrose, which had separate crackling to place under the grill.

By the time she had taken a quick shower and changed into some joggers and a sweatshirt, the potatoes were almost done. She drained them and put them onto a baking tray with some olive oil and seasoning to roast them. She took out the Bisto gravy tin and put two heaped tablespoons of granules into a jug, then checked the pork.

Finally the table was laid, she had opened a bottle of red wine, and the plates were warming on top of the cooker.

Ten minutes later Jane took the pork out, placed the crisped crackling on top of it, and put the potatoes and broccoli into a serving dish. There was still no sign of Eddie. She was just about to lose her temper when she heard the front door slam. Eddie appeared at the kitchen door.

‘Perfect timing!’ He grinned.

She watched him cross to the sink and run the water to wash his filthy hands. He had what looked like brick dust in his hair, and his jacket was covered in it as well.

‘Can you take your jacket off because you’re covered in dust. I don’t want you getting it over the food,’ Jane said.

‘Right... I had to haul a few things from off a tarpaulin in the yard. This all looks delicious... I’m starving.’

Jane got up from the table.

‘I’ll carve, you take your jacket into the hall, and leave it at the bottom of the stairs. And take your boots off while you’re at it!’

‘Right, you’re the boss!’

Jane snatched up the carving knife. It really irritated her the way he constantly left a trail of dust when he got back from work, and he always forgot to remove his work clothes before tramping through the house. She served them both then sat down and took a gulp of her wine.

‘Is there any apple sauce?’ he asked.

Jane got up, went to the cupboard and took out a jar of Bramley’s and plonked it on the table beside him. Eddie poured himself a glass of wine as she sat back down.

‘Had a good day?’ he asked.

‘Not really. For starters, I don’t have my own office... I suppose I could request one, but the other DI isn’t bothered... added to that, I’m working on this tedious assault situation with two warring neighbours.’

Eddie grinned. ‘Is it about boundaries?’

‘Yes, one property is worth a few million and is in a private courtyard. The other property is much smaller and modern; apparently, they’re rather cheap-looking houses. For some crazy reason the man accused of the assault has an obsession about people parking on a large, tarmacked area to the rear of the expensive property. He opposed planning permission for years, but it eventually came through recently, resulting in an assault which left one of them in a critical condition in hospital.’

Eddie winced. ‘What was the planning permission for?’

‘To have electric gates and a wall around his property.’

‘So, if it’s his land, what’s the problem?’

‘The neighbour, Mr Boon, claims that Mr Caplan cannot have a wall or gate as it is not in keeping with the other properties. He also claims that the existing fence is one inch over his property boundary and three inches over a tarmacked area in front of all the other properties, which is basically used as a car park. He’s been writing abusive letters for years, so when the council at long last approved the application for Caplan to go ahead, Mr Boon went ballistic. That was according to Caplan’s wife, at any rate, although Boon’s wife insists he is a caring, quiet man who would never get into a confrontation. But I haven’t had a conversation with any of them yet.’

Eddie crunched into some crackling. ‘Blimey! I almost broke my front tooth!’

‘Maybe I did it for too long under the grill, but it’s good, isn’t it?’

‘It is, my beloved one, and you’re getting to be a dab hand at the roast potatoes... they’re really crispy.’

‘That’s down to your mum telling me how she does them. Anyway, this case... the situation is now serious because if Boon dies then it potentially becomes a murder.’

‘Listen, I’ve seen open warfare over property lines and usually it’s fences being erected that create the problems. How did he hit the bloke?’

‘With a spade.’

‘On the back of his head?’

‘No, in the face apparently, but he went down hard. Mr Caplan swears he only picked up the spade because Mr Boon had an iron bar and was threatening him. Says he just swung the spade in self-defence.’

‘Did they find the iron bar?’

‘No, not yet.’

‘Well, I’d say Boon just got unlucky.’

‘I think part of it is jealousy. I mean, Caplan’s property is huge. At one time it would have been the only manor house in the area.’

‘Whereabouts is it?’

‘I can’t tell you; it’s illegal if I do.’

‘For God’s sake! I might even know the place.’

‘Maybe, but just forget it.’

‘Fine, have it your way. Forgive me for even asking. But how come you as a detective inspector for the CID are dicking around with this kind of nonsense?’

‘I am “dicking around” with it, Eddie, because it has serious consequences if the victim dies and it becomes GBH or even murder. The question is whether it’s section 18 or 20.’

‘All a bit domestic, though, isn’t it? I’d have thought you would have been assigned something with a bit more grit.’

‘Believe me, I can’t wait to get something with more “grit”, but right now this is all I’ve got.’

Eddie put his dirty plate beside the sink, then drained his wine glass.

‘Well, I’m going to take a shower, then I wouldn’t mind going over some of my accounts with you. Since you encouraged me to keep an invoicing diary, I think I am in better shape than ever, financially. Before, I was constantly waiting on payments.’

Jane shrugged as she cleared the table, annoyed that he had not put his dirty plate and glass in the dishwasher. After clearing everything away and switching on the dishwasher, she went into the hall and picked up his dusty jacket which he had left on the banister. His boots were lying where he had kicked them off, so she fetched an old newspaper, spread it on the floor near the front door and put his boots on top. She then went into the closet beneath the stairs and took out the hoover to clean the hall carpet. By the time she had finished tidying up it was after ten thirty.

Eddie was still in the bathroom when she went upstairs to the bedroom. She sat on the bed and opened her briefcase, checking what meetings she had the next day. Wearing boxer shorts and with his hair still wet from the shower, Eddie walked in carrying his dirty work clothes.

‘Should I put these in the laundry basket in the bathroom, or downstairs?’

‘Downstairs. I wash them separately because of the dust and grime. The basket is by the washing machine.’

‘Right, then are we going to go over the accounts?’

‘I’ll be down in a minute; I’m just sorting out my schedule for tomorrow.’

Eddie walked out and Jane pursed her lips. How many times had she told him that it would be easier if he took off his work clothes downstairs and put them in the laundry basket by the washing machine? Eddie occasionally did what he was asked, but he constantly had to be reminded. Just as he had to be reminded that when he took a shower, he should put the wet towels over the towel rail, not leave them in a pile on the floor. Jane looked into the bathroom and was surprised to see the towels on the rail, although the sodden bathmat was left scrunched up on the floor.

Eddie was whistling in the kitchen when she eventually joined him. He had made two cups of coffee and had laid out his account books and invoices, along with a stack of potential job offers. Jane sat down and checked over the invoices and dates and smiled.

‘This is looking good, Eddie, and the new jobs are quite substantial. Which one are you thinking of taking on?’

‘Well, I have to do the estimates, but I think the biggest job is that new block of flats by the station. They want all of the interior and exterior decorated. I would have to take on extra hands to do it, but I dare say I could stall the smaller jobs. What do you think?’

‘I would check how much you’d make from the three smaller ones and see what you’d earn. If it’s close to the station project, then there would be no need to take on extra workers, which would mean additional wages out of the profits. I’m sure there are a lot of men out of work right now, but you are such a perfectionist, and you don’t want to run yourself ragged.’

He nodded. ‘I’ve been talking to Dad about helping me out. If he could oversee the smaller jobs while I concentrate on the station job, that would really help, but he’s getting on a bit. What do you think?’

Jane sighed. It seemed that Eddie had already made up his mind and just wanted her to confirm he was doing the right thing.

‘It’s your decision, Eddie. As you said, your dad is getting on, but he’s always handled his own business, so just talk it through with him.’

Eddie gathered all the papers and placed them in a folder with different tabs for banking, work and invoices.

‘I think we might be able to get a bigger house soon,’ he said. ‘You could sell this one for quite a good profit after all the work that’s been done on it.’

Jane sighed. ‘I don’t know... we’ve only just got this one finished. Are you thinking of buying a property that needs doing up again?’

‘Of course, but this is your house, Jane, and I want us to have one that we share between us... like a family home. I would do all the renovations, and we could stay living here until it’s done up, although that would obviously be quite a big investment. What do you want to do?’

Jane suddenly felt really tired. ‘I don’t know, Eddie. I’ll need to think about it. Right now, though, I’m ready for bed.’ Eddie picked up their coffee mugs and put them by the dishwasher before getting his diary up to date. By the time he headed upstairs to the bedroom, Jane was already in bed, her bedside light turned off. He switched the main bedroom lights off and climbed in beside her, leaving his bedside light on.

‘You going to sleep?’

‘Yes.’

Eddie switched his bedside light off and pulled the duvet up, turning towards her.

‘You all right?’

‘Yes, just tired.’

‘No, there’s something else. I can tell. Is it about not wanting to move or sell your house?’

‘No, it’s not that. I got some sad news today, but I can’t really talk about it.’

‘Why not?’

She gave a long sigh, and when he put his arm around her to draw her closer, she pushed him away.

‘Not tonight, Eddie.’

‘For God’s sake, I don’t want sex. I’m just concerned. You said you had some bad news, so tell me what it is?’

‘Sad news, Eddie. There was a memorial service for someone I knew today, and I should have been there. I just feel bad that I didn’t know anything about it.’

‘Who?’

There was a long pause while Jane chose her words. ‘Someone I cared about, but hadn’t seen for some time.’

Eddie was unsure how to respond.

‘He was a bomb disposal expert. His name was Alan, but everyone called him by his surname, Dexter. I worked with him a long time ago. Anyway, he was racing his Porsche in France, or using a racetrack over there, and he crashed. I can’t stop thinking about it.’

Eddie made a commiserating sound, and Jane continued in the same soft, unemotional voice.

‘He had this great flat that was very modern, and a flamboyant style that I had never seen before. I remember I asked about these three plaques he had on his wall. They were carved wood with gold-painted dates. He said the first date was when James Dean crashed his Porsche and died, the second was the date his brother had died in a skiing accident, but the third one had no date. I asked him why not, and he said that would be the date when he died.’

‘Isn’t that a bit freaky?’ Eddie said, yawning.

‘Yes, I suppose so, but now the date can be added.’ Jane spoke through her tears but she didn’t want Eddie to know that she was crying.

‘Did you have a fling with him?’

Eddie leaned up on his elbow, but Jane turned away.

‘I mean, was this plaque thing in his bedroom? It sounds to me like he was crazy or had some kind of death wish.’

‘You don’t understand...’

‘So why don’t you try telling me? You’re crying, Jane. Did you have some kind of thing with this guy? Jane? Jane, look at me...’

He tried to turn her face towards him, but she jerked away and started sobbing in earnest. He threw off the duvet and turned on his bedside light. She curled up her knees and wouldn’t look at him, hugging herself tightly.

‘For Christ’s sake, Jane, was this going on while you’ve been with me? I need to know! Were you fucking this guy while living here with me, letting me run around after you doing the house up while you were out shagging this Dexter bloke?’

‘Eddie, it was a long time ago,’ she said between sobs. ‘I haven’t seen him for years, and certainly not since I moved in here.’

‘How long did it go on for?’

Jane sighed and gritted her teeth. ‘For God’s sake, it was not a real relationship, Eddie. He was someone I was very fond of and we just saw each other occasionally.’

‘I don’t believe you, Jane. Why are you crying your eyes out then?’

‘Because I didn’t know that he had died until today, all right?’

‘If it was just someone you saw occasionally, why are you getting so angry with me for asking about him?’

‘Please, just leave me alone, Eddie. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.’

‘Fine, I’ll leave you alone. I’m going to sleep on the sofa.’

He walked out, slamming the bedroom door behind him. Jane sighed. She knew that at some point she would have to try and explain to Eddie just what Dexter had meant to her, but that brought on another spate of tears. Eventually she threw back the duvet, got out of bed, put on her dressing gown and slippers and went downstairs.

Jane poured a glass of brandy and walked into the sitting room. Eddie was on the sofa with a rug wrapped over him. She went and sat on the edge of the sofa.

‘Is that for me?’ he asked.

‘No, it’s for me. I thought I owed you an explanation... not that I think you really deserve one. If you must know, Alan Dexter was someone I met very early on in my career. He was with the bomb squad, and I was with him the night he had to defuse a bomb, on Good Friday, the night of the annual CID dinner. He was a real daredevil character, fearless and charismatic. I think I fell in love with him on that night, but it was more like a schoolgirl crush. To be honest, it was sort of like that all the time I knew him. It wasn’t a relationship. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have wanted one because I did, but Dexter was a real womaniser and never gave the slightest indication that there would ever be anything serious between us...’

Jane hesitated and sipped her brandy. She had known that whenever she parted from Dexter, they might not see each other again for weeks or even months. Then there were times when he seemed to intuitively know she needed him to be with her, and those nights...

Eddie reached over and took the glass from her hand. ‘Carry on, Jane.’

‘He met someone special, and she moved in with him... so I never saw him again.’

Eddie drained the brandy glass and handed it back to her. He smiled. ‘And then you met me!’

Jane looked away. ‘I need to go back to bed and get some sleep. Why don’t you stay put as I know you will be out early, so then you won’t wake me up.’

She leaned over and kissed him, drawing up the blanket around him as if he were a little boy.

‘Night-night.’ She walked out, leaving the empty glass on the table, and hurried up the stairs to her bedroom. She snuggled down, curling up beneath the duvet, and cried for Dexter, who she knew had loved her in his own way, or the only way he had known how.