The Darker Half ~ Chapter 6

The Darker Half ~ Chapter 6

By Janet Baldey

BILL

         Too early even for the birds, he wakes tangled in a twist of sweaty sheets. His head feels like a pumpkin and there is a dull pain throbbing in both temples.  Despite this, he feels elated.  At some point during the hours of darkness, the ancient computer buried deep in his skull has churned out a name and he gives a satisfied chuckle, happy for once that he’s alone and there is no-one to hear. “Still got it, you old bugger”. He rasps, “ brain cells not turned to porridge just yet.”  Ignoring his aching head, he sits up and swings his legs round until he is facing the window, which is still only a slightly lighter rectangle in the shadowy room. Anna Tyler - Alec Tyler’s sister.  His third eye could see her clearly now, older, but there was no mistaking her.  Not a face that would be easy to forget under any circumstances even if she hadn’t been on the witness stand. But what’s brought her to the bridge last night. Obviously, the years hadn’t been kind to her.  He screws up his eyes, trying to remember details of the case. Not his patch, and Glasgow’s a long way away but the trial had been riveting - made headlines in the Nationals week after week.  Those cases always do, of course and this one had been something special.  He wonders what’s brought her to this neck of the woods and why she’d been standing on the bridge?  As if they’d been oiled, the cogs in his brain start to turn and more facts drift back to him. His previous lethargy dissipates and he starts to tingle as if awaking from a coma, this is what he misses, something to get his teeth into. Bit selfish really, slightly ashamed he remembers how the lass had looked last night. Desperate, was the word he finally comes up with.

         He stands up and starts to pace around his bedroom dimly aware of Jackson raising his head from his basket and staring at him with puzzled eyes. Another name flashes into his mind. Mack, he remembers. Andrew Mack -  he was involved. He was the one who finally cracked it. Only a Detective Constable at the time but it made him.   Got promoted soon after and then came down South.  God knows why. They’d hit it off from the start – both Detective Sergeants before Mack outstripped him. They were still friends, if only from a distance.  In fact Mack was one of the few who, true to his word, had kept in touch. Maybe Mack could fill him in. Of course, he’d have to be subtle.  No longer in the Force, he was now an outsider and needed to watch his P’s & Q’s. The all too familiar sense of desolation creeps back and resolutely he shoulders it away. Apart from anything else, it was time he saw Mack again, a bit of harmless reminiscing is just what he needs.  

         He looks at his watch, a bit early yet. He’d have some breakfast and phone afterwards.

***

         He arrives ten minutes early, deliberately so.  He needs to prepare himself. Get his story off pat and it’s always easier to do that in situ.  To be honest, he’d been a bit surprised at Mack’s reaction when he’d finally reached him. They hadn’t spoken for at least a year but Mack had seemed delighted.

         “How are you, you old bugger? And to what do I owe the honour of this call?”

         “I’m fine.  Just realised it’s a long time since I’d seen you.”

         “Certainly is. Got to put that right, son. What about lunch today?  I’m free at one.   The Skewie all right?”

         “Bloody hell, is that place still standing?”

         Mack’s rich laugh exploded in his ear.

         “Don’t worry. That place will see you and me out. It doesn’t change and Jez is still in charge. What’s more, lunch is on me unless you decide to go all poncy and order a salad and sparkling water.”

         It had been as easy as that and as he drives up to “The Skewbald Horse” not far from his ex-station house, he sees that Mack was right. As ugly as a brick shit house, it hadn’t changed.  Still the beer was good and the landlord didn’t mind cops stinking out his saloon, which was more than you could say for many of them. He walks up to the bar, gets two pints in and chooses a table almost directly in front of the door but slightly offset so he’s not directly in view when Mack enters.  He sits, sipping his beer, his pulse quickening every time the door swings open, but when Mack finally appears, it settles down.

         “Mack.” He gets up and holds out his hand. “Long time, no see.” 

         “Too long.” Mack’s grip is firm if slightly sweaty.

         “I got you a Guinness. Hope it’s still your tipple.”

         “Just the job mate. Cheers.”

         The chair groans as he sits down and after taking a long swallow, Mack looks at him.

         “So, what’s up then?”

         “Sorry?”

         “Come off it Bill. You didn’t call me purely for the pleasure of listening to my voice or invite me here to gaze at my bootiful face, although I couldn’t blame you if you did.  So, let’s cut to the chase, eh?”

         “Not till we’ve gone through the formalities, Mack. You know me, always a stickler for doing things by the book”. 

The moment the words are out, he realises their irony and his stomach does a backflip.  He swallows and carries on, hoping that Mack hasn’t noticed.

“Now, how’ve you been and how’s Jenny?”

         “Me?” Mack makes a seesaw gesture with his hand. “Up and down, you know.  Up and down. Had a bit of a problem with me guts recently but it’s getting sorted.  And, Jenny’s blooming.”

         Jack looks at him closely and sees the pasty skin and eyes almost disappearing into flabby pouches. Mack needs to take more care of himself, he thinks, otherwise he won’t make retirement. He has a vision of Mack in the old days, brushing sausage roll crumbs off some witness statement and swigging Cola. After years of that treatment it isn’t surprising he needs a re-build.

         “So, your gorgeous wife’s still putting up with you, is she?  That’s amazing but then I never understood what she saw in an ugly sod like you.”

         Mack laughed and patted his paunch. “Says I keep her warm on cold winter nights.”

         He finishes his pint and gets up.

         “Right, steak, chips and all the trimmings. Okay with you?”  Without waiting for a reply, he turns his back and lumbers towards the bar.

         Jack watches him, his mind busy getting his thoughts in order.  A brilliant cop, his brain as sharp as a tack and always quick to make connections, Mack has seen through his ploy and suddenly, he feels nervous. He’s no longer part of the force and well remembers feeling impatient when ex-cops tried to pump him, back in the day when he was top dog. Maybe Mack feels the same and will clam up.

         While eating they chat about this and that, the state of the steak, the state of the world, the state of their erstwhile colleagues and it’s not until Mack sighs and puts down his knife and fork, that his former question is repeated.

         “So, come on then. Anything I can help with?”

         “Maybe not and you’ll probably think I’m daft but I saw something the other night and it’s been niggling me.”

         Mack’s eyebrows lifted.

         “Yeah.  Do you remember the Tyler case?”

         Mack stared at him. “Go on.” He said eventually.

         “I was walking the dog by the river the other evening when I saw a woman standing alone on the bridge. It was dark and bloody cold – no place for anyone to be hanging about. Then, I saw she had no shoes on.  Well, that was it. I called out to her and when she turned round, I knew damn well I’d seen her before. I also knew that if I hadn’t turned up when I did, there’d be another corpse in the morgue. Anyway, immediately after I arrived she pushed off. And that was it really, except I couldn’t get her face out of my mind and eventually, I remembered who it was. Anna Tyler. The sister. Gave me a hell of a shock. I didn’t realise she lived around here. Did you?”

         Mack nodded. 

         “Did, as a matter of fact.  But saw no reason to broadcast it – reckoned the poor lass deserved some peace. That was a case and a half that one. I never would have imagined that puny sod could have done what he did. Wouldn’t have guessed he’d have the strength, always thought he had help. In fact, I suspected the sister for a while until I realised they hated each other’s guts. Plus, she had a cast-iron alibi. So, you’re sure it was her?”

         Jack notices that Mack’s eyes have lost their look of lazy tolerance and thinks that maybe his intuition is not so far off the mark after all. “Certain and I just wondered if anything was going on. Pure nosiness really.”

         There is a long silence as Mack studies the table, tracing the outline of a puddle of beer with his forefinger. The waitress comes to clear away their plates and it isn’t until she’s left, that he looks up.

         “You know I shouldn’t really be talking to you. We both know that. But you were, and probably still are, a damn good cop and no blabbermouth. Besides, it was bloody unfair what happened to you and there but for the Grace of God and all that….. So, we’ll forget the past and you’re just another colleague, right?”

         Jack swallows. That was a long speech coming from Mack. To his horror, he feels his eyes prickle. Quickly, he blinks and nods.

         “Besides,” Mack continues. “It’s probably all pie in the sky and my Aunt Fanny’s arse but….You weren’t directly involved in the case so I don’t know how much you know, but there was a child involved.  Apparently the murdering bastard had a daughter.  Pretty little thing. About twelve years old at the time. After the dust settled, Anna took the kid back to live with her and as far as we were concerned, that was that. Until now it seems.”

         He falls quiet and Bill waits patiently.

         “A few weeks ago, the local truant officer got in touch with us. A girl had gone missing and he couldn’t get to the bottom of it. Standard stuff really but what caught my eye was the name, Tyler. Not an uncommon name but for me, it rang strong alarm bells.   I dug a bit and sure enough, the girl turns out to be Anna Tyler’s niece, Joanne.  She’d been attending a local school, St Anne’s. Bit of a handful, according to the Head. Bunks off, cheeky, disruptive - that sort of thing. Anyway, this Joanne doesn’t turn up at school for a few days, so the Head ‘phones Aunt Anna and gets the brush off.  Nothing to worry about, gone away for a few days, back soon …blah, blah blah. Except that something didn’t sit well with the Head, tone of voice and so on. Anyway, after about a couple of weeks and still no show she gets in touch with the local Truant Officer.  He goes round to the house and gets the same treatment. But, he said, the woman gave him the willies.  Looked like she was haunted, thin as a rail, sheet white, shaking hands…He comes down hard, says she’ll be taken to Court but gets no reaction.  The aunt says she doesn’t know where the girl is but is certain she is all right. He tries to tell her that’s not good enough but she doesn’t seem to care.

         So, he comes to see us. Not a lot we can do about it really. The girl’s not been reported missing and as far as we know, no crime’s been committed.  But all the same, it is odd.  Her being a Tyler and all. Bit of a coincidence and I never did believe in them.  Plus, what you’ve just told me just adds to the mystery.”  He shrugs and looks at his watch.  “Anyway, that’s the story so far. Guess, we’ll just have to watch this space.”

Copyright Janet Baldey