Page 99 of Her Last Breath

Chapter 69

The familiar streets of Burnley disappeared into arterial roads that led out of town. Driving past Padiham, Jane sped through areas she hadn’t visited before. It was beautiful here, a belt of nature reserves and protected land, hemmed in by open farmland. A pang of regret burst inside her as she wished she had brought her mum here – they could have had a day out, explored their little world. Maeve used to tell Jane about visiting relatives and friends who’d moved out to these parts. When had she told her that? In Jane’s head they had been at loggerheads for decades; there were no breaks for normality, for niceness. That wasn’t true, of course, and she was remembering more and more such incidents since her mum had died. Conversations that weren’t arguments.

The emotions swirled messily inside her, threatening to break her resolve. This time throwing herself into work wasn’t the magic pill she had experienced in the past, when it might have helped get her though a rough night of no sleep and heavy drinking, or a shouty phone call home. This was too big for that. This was not going to disappear just because her mind was busy.

As she got closer to the address DS Johnson had given her, the traffic became ever more sparse.

The price tag on these properties was high, especially by Burnley standards. How could a detective sergeant afford to live in this part of the world? Was DS Johnson involved in more than just skimming a few quid from his sources?

The gravel rolled under the tyres of her Toyota Corolla as she pulled into DS Johnson’s drive. There were only half a dozen houses on his street, his at the very far end, butting onto empty green fields. Jane felt her heart hammering in her chest as she tried to rehearse the conversation she was going to have. She didn’t want to alienate him after they had come so far professionally, but she also couldn’t turn a blind eye to his behaviour.

DS Johnson was dressed in black joggers and a hoodie when he opened the door.

‘I could have come to you,’ he protested.

‘It’s fine, I needed the drive. Can I come in?’

He held the door open wide and she went into the house. It was tastefully decorated, expensive. Again, the resounding question in her head was how the hell could he afford this? He had no family, so no inheritance. Had he just been frugal all through his career? Possibly. Unmarried, no children. Jane realised she was giving him answers and justifications even before she started.

‘Come through to the kitchen,’ he said, leading the way. ‘Tea?’

Jane felt her mouth go sticky and full, as though she couldn’t speak. Had she made a mistake? Had she dreamt up something that wasn’t there?

‘Tea would be great,’ she said.

She watched him make their drinks in silence, before he sat down at the opposite end of the kitchen table to her. Despite blowing on the hot liquid, Jane still scalded her tongue slightly as she sipped.

‘How are you holding up?’ he asked her, genuine concern in his voice. ‘DCI Malik messaged us all, told us to give you some space. Can’t imagine what it must be like for you.’

She thought back to their conversation outside the Red Lion pub. His own recollections over the death of his parents.

‘I would think you of all people would understand what it feels like.’

‘My relationship with the parents wasn’t exactly textbook.’

‘Neither was mine with my mother.’

She paused to sip her tea, before continuing:

‘I still feel like I’ve been knocked for six though.’

‘I suppose that bond is unique. Even though neither of my parents had time for me, at the end I still did everything I could to save Mum. My dad was already dead when I found them, but she was still alive.’ His voice trembled from the recollection, the pain obvious. ‘It was the only time she reached out for me, you know, seemed to see me, acknowledge that I existed.’

He laughed away the obvious anguish he was in.

‘Probably the first time she was sober; the thought of dying shocked her into lucidity. I stayed with her until the ambulance came. It didn’t do much good though.’

Jane couldn’t make eye contact, thrown by his grief and his concern for her; given what she had come here to do. Instead, she changed the subject, tried to bring some normality into their conversation, before she confronted him about Alice.

‘Nice place you have,’ she said. ‘Must have set you back a bit.’

‘I bought it cheap. Spent most of my savings and wages doing it up. It’s been a good investment though. We’ve got two Burnley FC players in the neighbourhood now.’

Nodding, Jane then put her tea down on the coaster that DS Johnson had purposefully given her. She tried to look him directly in the eyes, but her gaze broke.

‘I wanted to ask you about Alice Rogers. I was going through her personal belongings and came across something.’

He didn’t respond, waiting for her to expand.