Deadly Friends Read Free Page A

she’d be attractive under different circumstances. She was wearing a black leather jacket and jeans. I couldn’t fault that – I was wearing the same.
    Maggie said: ‘I’ll bring you up to date, Boss, and Janet can interrupt if I get it wrong. She’s single – divorced – with a five-year-old daughter. She lives on Marsden Road, about half a mile from the Tap and Spile public house, where she works as a barmaid three nights per week. She was working there on Christmas Eve, and a man she only knows as Darryl bought her a drink and later he offered to walk her home. She declined and walked home in the company of two neighbours.’ Maggie turned to the alleged victim. ‘Did you say they lived next door to you, Janet?’
    ‘No. Next door but two. Mr and Mrs Brown, they’re called.’
    ‘Right. Janet’s ex was bringing their daughter round at nine a.m. It was her turn to have her over Christmas. She left the pub at midnight, sharp, because she had presents to wrap and other things to do.’ Maggie turned to Janet.
    ‘Would you like to go on from there, Janet. I don’t want to put words into your mouth.’
    Janet gazed at the table for a moment. She was wearing a wedding ring but no other jewellery. Her fingernails were short and unpainted and the sleeves of the leather jacket were too long so she had to keep hitching them up. She shuffled her position until she was more upright and said: ‘I wanted to make a trifle. Clean up a bit. And I had presents to wrap for Dilly.’
    ‘Dilly’s your daughter?’ I asked.
    ‘Mmm. Working at the pub, you come ’ome stinking of cigarettes. First thing I always do is have a shower. I had a good long soak and dried myself. I was going to put my jogging suit on and get stuck in for a couple of hours. Make things nice for …’
    Up to then she’d been in control, but as we approached the offence she lost it and pulled a scrap of tissue out of her pocket. PC Kent produced a box of man-size and placed them alongside her.
    ‘Thank you,’ she sniffled, taking one.
    I said: ‘You normally only work three nights at the Tap and Spile, Janet?’
    She nodded. ‘Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. They’re not busy enough on Mondays and Tuesdays.’
    ‘And not at weekends?’
    ‘Not usually. I have Dilly at weekends.’
    ‘Do you have a full-time job?’
    She shook her head.
    ‘Tell us what happened next, Janet, if you can.’
    She bit her lip for a second before answering. ‘I heard a noise. Thought it was someone outside, you know, revellers. I was drying my hair on the towel when, all of a sudden, I went cold. There was a draught and the light changed somehow. I lowered the towel and … he was standing there, with the door wide open. I screamed. Tried to cover myself. He just stood there, laughing.’
    ‘This was the man you know as Darryl?’ Maggie asked. ‘Yes.’
    I said: ‘Janet, we’re not recording this, but Maggie will do a statement later and we’ll ask you to check it and sign it. If you’re finding this too difficult would you prefer to write it down yourself?’
    She shook her head. ‘No, I’m all right.’
    ‘Well, we can break off anytime you want.’
    ‘You’re doing fine,’ Maggie assured her.
    Janet had a drink of coffee and went on: ‘I shouted: “What the ’ell do you want?” or something. He said: “What do you think I want?” and he waved a knife at me. He grabbed me by the ’air and dragged me into the bedroom and … he did it to me. On the bed.’
    She took another tissue and blew her nose.
    ‘You must have been terrified,’ I said.
    She looked at me and gave a little sniff of disdain at my description of her fear. Her eyes were blue. ‘Did he say anything else?’ Maggie asked.
    ‘He pointed the knife at me, said he could kill me. But he said that was messy. He said if I reported ’im he’d just say I’d consented. Nobody would believe me. It would be my word against his. He said … he said …’ She couldn’t go