Jenna raised her head and scanned the area, narrowing her eyes against the burnished orange glow that only made the outer edges of the night even darker. Not many onlookers; it was too far out of most people’s way to bother. Despite the radiance in the sky, it was late. People were in bed. Most people. Except…
Jenna closed her eyes and breathed in deep. When she opened them again, Kim Stafford, local reporter and bane of her life was still there, his back to her, but unmistakable, nonetheless, with his shaggy, dishevelled look. His thin, rounded shoulders gave him the appearance of a much shorter man in his long, loose mac. His thinning hair plastered to his head. If she wanted to stereotype him, she’d classify him as a flasher. Pathetic and snivelling.
Instead, she chose to ignore him. After all, he was outside the cordon, doing his job. Reporting. Shame it would be thin on facts and heavy on speculation. Just as it had been during her sister’s kidnap ordeal. He’d accused the police of pulling out all the stops simply because Fliss was related to an officer. Never further from the truth, the stops were pulled out because Fliss was a missing person and there was the naked body of a dead woman at the scene of her disappearance.
Sure the lowlife would kick off the rumours again once Frank Bartwell’s court case began, Jenna’s fingers itched to get a hold of him and give him a good shake.
Kim hated Jenna, ever since they were in school and she humiliated him in front of everyone by bloodying his nose. He’d never forgiven her. She’d never cared until recently when his problem with her nudged at her work as he tossed lies and exaggerations about cases into the public eye.
No good would come of him turning up tonight. There’d be something unsavoury reported, some dig at the police. Especially if he knew she was there.
He glanced over his shoulder, his gaze met hers before it skittered away.
Oh yes. He knew she was there.
Jenna didn’t have time for Kim Stafford. She had a job to do. As long as he stayed where he was supposed to and didn’t sidle through the outer cordon, all would be fine.
Not that Kim Stafford had ever done as he was supposed to. He spent far too much time skimming the legal boundaries to get what he considered a story. Including the careless and ruthless use of a police source who he dropped like a hot coal when the finger of suspicion was pointed.
She’d have a quick word with Ted Walker before she left. Make sure he was aware of the lurking reporter. Knowing Ted, he already would be, but it didn’t harm to make sure.
Jenna turned her attention back to the old lady. The cool flutter of night air teased through the ambulance where five minutes before the heat of the blaze had surrounded them. The wind had changed direction to whip away the bonfire smell and smoke.
Ethel hunched over, shoulders rounded in on herself and a fine tremor in her hands.
‘Ethel, you must be cold.’ Jenna reached out and took both of Ethel’s icy hands in her own while she caught Sandy’s astute eye.
The paramedic turned, all bustle and movement, to slip a light blanket over Ethel’s legs. ‘We’re just going to warm you up, Ethel. Looks as though you trotted out in your nightwear, haven’t you, my darling?’
Ethel’s straight lips wobbled up into a smile. ‘We wanted to make sure no one was hurt.’ She flashed the house a wary glance. ‘Nobody’s come out.’ Her jaw clenched. ‘It got cold so quickly then.’ She shuddered again as Sandy wrapped a honeycomb blanket around her shoulders and squatted by her side.
‘Hold on a minute, my love, we’ll get you seen to.’ Sandy tossed Jenna a quick smile. ‘A touch of shock setting in, I think.’ She took Ethel’s hands in her own and gave them a gentle rub. ‘You were nice and toasty a few minutes ago. It doesn’t take long for hypothermia to set in when you get a shock.’ She gave Ethel’s hand a last quick pat and came to her feet.
Sandy bounded down the steps out of the ambulance, lowering her voice as she took hold of the other paramedic’s arm and led him away. When she returned, she swung the doors to the ambulance closed behind her and made her way to the electronic panel. She punched a couple of buttons and hot air flowed through to warm the cabin instantaneously.
Ethel huddled into the blankets and waited while Sandy carried out more checks. Her movements quick and efficient.
‘It’s so easy at your age, Ethel, to get cold.’ Ethel’s fingers jerked against Jenna’s hands as Sandy continued. ‘Even in this milder weather, you need to wrap up before you come out at night.’ As Ethel opened her mouth, Sandy added, ‘It only takes a matter of a few minutes when you’re not very mobile for hypothermia to set in.’ The fingers jerked again and then curled into a tight ball of gnarled bones.
Oblivious, Sandy moved away to rummage through the medical equipment. As she produced the blood pressure cuff, Ethel moved her head close to Jenna’s, her lips almost grazing her ear, so she whispered her annoyance. ‘That woman can’t half talk and she’s repeating herself. Does she think I’m stupid?’
Jenna rubbed the old lady’s hands. Evidently, she didn’t want to acknowledge her age or any vulnerabilities that accompanied it. Jenna leaned back to allow Sandy to do her job, but she needed a couple more things from Ethel first.
‘When was the last time you saw your neighbours, Ethel?’
With barely a pause before Jenna had finished her question, Ethel was off. ‘I haven’t seen them all winter. Heard them plenty. The acoustics carry sound across from their place to ours. Just like it carried the smoke over tonight.’
‘Tell me about that.’
‘They had a party. Oh my God, I prayed it would just stop. It seemed to go on forever. Loud banging music. Voices.’
Jenna resisted the temptation to look at her watch. If she’d gone to a party, they’d probably still be going strong. ‘What time did it finish?’
‘I don’t know. About 11:00 p.m., I think. Far too late for those little ones. I lay in bed wide awake, listening to the voices and music. Then it went quiet. There was a long silence.’ Ethel rolled her lips in on themselves, the wrinkles deepening as she did. ‘I thought, thank God for that. I must have drifted off.’ She screwed up her tiny face and her thinning skin covered her eyes in soft folds. ‘And then there were gunshots.’
Jenna couldn’t stop the fast blinks and only hoped Ethel didn’t pick up on the shock that rippled over her skin. ‘Gunshots? At that time of night?’
‘Yes. I said, didn’t I?’
She’d said he was always shooting. She hadn’t said she’d heard shots earlier that evening. ‘Didn’t you report it?’
‘Report it?’ This time Ethel leaned forward to pat Jenna’s hand. ‘Oh, my dear, it never occurred to me. He did it every weekend. Friday, Saturday, for the past five years at least.’
‘At night?’
‘Especially at night.’ Ethel’s right eyebrow flicked up. ‘That’s when the rats come out.’
Didn’t she just know it. Rats not only of the animal kingdom, but the human variety too. Darkness was always a friend to the rats of the world. And, like Ethel, Jenna smelled a rat. It may be something. It may be nothing. Accidents happened, fires started, but Jenna wasn’t a coincidence kind of person. She lived by cold, hard facts.