Jack had actually already arranged a meeting with a psychiatrist from the unit but told Clarke that in his opinion Middleton had ‘acted up’ after his previous arrest eighteen months earlier, to get a lenient sentence, serving only seven months before his release. He didn’t mention that it was Ridley who had first suggested that there was something fishy going on.
‘Jack, I’m not interested in your opinion. Please just get the necessary medical data as it appears his violence is escalating. I also suggest you re-interview his girlfriend.’
Jack had already arranged to bring in the girlfriend for further questioning, but he simply agreed with Clarke as he was eager to leave. Jack had not actually met the offender as the original DS who had been dealing with the case had gone on long-term sick leave. A forensic psychologist had been contacted to assess the defendant and judge whether he was fit to enter a plea, stand trial and participate in proceedings. It felt as if Clarke was being over-diligent, but he presumed it was due to the fact that he was taking over from Ridley at short notice. When Jack returned to the incident room, he found that most of the others felt as if they had been interrogated rather than asked for a summary of the cases to which they had been assigned.
When he left at five thirty, Jack and the entire team had no clearer understanding of what was going on with Ridley. Maggie arrived home shortly after Jack and, as soon as she saw him, she knew something was wrong. He was in the kitchen putting a casserole into the oven, and their daughter, Hannah, was upstairs being given a bath by Jack’s mother, Penny.
‘What’s up?’
‘How do you know something’s up?’
‘Well, you don’t usually hover in the kitchen with a glass of whisky before six thirty. Did you have a bad day?’
‘Not exactly. Something strange happened and none of us can fathom what’s going on. Ridley’s been replaced, with no reason given. So, we have a new DCI who’s being very over-cautious with everything we’re working on. Most of the team assume Ridley must be ill. You know he had that cancer diagnosis, and when I found out he was having chemo he made me promise to keep my mouth shut about it. He also told me he’d been given the all-clear and, to be honest, I believed him. He’s been in great spirits lately, almost unlike him, telling me he’d started working out at a gym and asking my opinion about these new clothes he’d bought. I was surprised when he took off for a couple of weeks. I even thought he might have been lying about being given the all-clear but didn’t want anyone to know. He didn’t look that good either.’
‘Why don’t you call him?’
‘I did. No reply. It went straight to voicemail.’
‘Well, I’m sure he’ll be in touch.’
‘I guess so. I’ve become quite fond of the old codger... even more so with him testing out his new wardrobe on me, but this is so unlike him... it was just sprung on everyone.’
‘What veg do you want?’
‘What?’
‘With the casserole. We have spinach or carrots.’
‘Whatever... I’ll go up and see Mum and Hannah.’
Maggie caught his arm. ‘Before you do, can I have a quick word? Something’s bothering me a bit. Does Penny seem alright to you?’
Jack shrugged, watching as Maggie took her coat off and handed it to him.
‘I’ve been meaning to have a chat with you because I’m concerned. Penny seems to be a bit forgetful lately and I wondered, you know, if it’s too much for her?’
‘If what’s too much?’
‘Well, she has to take Hannah to nursery every morning, then collect her in the afternoon. She’s only there for three hours before Penny walks her to the playground, then comes back home, feeds her, bathes her, gets her ready for bed. It’s a lot for a woman in her seventies, you know.’
‘She’s fine; she loves it... and I haven’t noticed anything.’
‘OK, well I just wanted to mention it. If you could hang my coat up in the hall, I’ll get on with setting the table.’
‘I could just call round to speak to him, couldn’t I?’
‘Yes, you could.’
‘Although the Super asked for complete privacy. What do you think?’
‘Jack, it’s up to you. Did you turn the oven on?’
‘Oh, I might not have. I’ll call him again and leave a message.’ Jack walked out of the kitchen to hang up her coat.
Maggie shook her head and went over to turn the oven on. She then opened the fridge and took out the vegetables.
Although she had treated it lightly with Jack, she was genuinely concerned about Penny. She had noticed a few things that were unlike her: she had left the iron on a couple of times recently, and the washing machine was full of dirty clothes that hadn’t been washed. They weren’t terribly serious things, but they were niggling at Maggie. Also, the nursery had given Penny some dates for parent meetings and Maggie had found them left on the hall table under a duster.
When Jack went into Hannah’s bedroom, she was wrapped in a soft bath towel, and his mother was opening a drawer to get out a nightdress for her. Jack gave Hannah a hug and a kiss, and then sat on the edge of her little bed with one of her cuddly toys.
‘Has she been a good girl today, Mum?’
‘Yes, apart from eating another little boy’s biscuit, according to the new young nursery assistant.’
Jack watched as Penny put on Hannah’s nightdress and some soft wool socks, saying that the nights were getting colder so if she tossed her blankets off at least her feet would stay warm. Hannah took the cuddly toy from Jack, saying ‘dadda’. Penny then picked her up and Jack got off the bed so that Penny could tuck her in and pull up the sides. She was too big for a cot now, but still needed the sense of safety.
‘The casserole’s in the oven. Are you having dinner with us tonight?’ Jack asked.
‘No, dear, I’m going to have an early night. After I drop Hannah off at nursery tomorrow, I’m going to meet up with some friends. We’re arranging a bingo night so when I get the dates, I’ll tell Maggie, as one of you will need to be here for Hannah.’
‘That’s good that you’re making new friends,’ Jack smiled. ‘I sometimes worry about you leaving all your old friends back in Devon. It’s about time you had some new interests.’
‘Well, I don’t know if you could call bingo a new interest! But we’ll have dinner and make it a weekly date... if I enjoy it. A couple of the women are bringing their husbands, and then there’s the caretaker from the nursery... he’s up for a night out.’
‘That’s great, Mum! Just let us know when one of us needs to be here to look after Hannah.’
Penny pulled out a large story book and drew up a low chair to sit beside Hannah’s bed. She lowered the brightness of the bedside lamp and glanced at Jack as he hovered.
‘Everything alright, dear?’
‘Yeah, yeah. See you in the morning, unless you want me to bring a tray of supper up to your room?’
‘No, thank you, dear, but I appreciate the offer. You enjoy having dinner with Maggie.’
Jack quietly closed the door behind him as Penny began reading a story to Hannah. He went into his home office to call Ridley. It went straight to voicemail again, so he left a message asking if he could do anything and hoping that Ridley would get in touch with him. By the time he went back to the kitchen, Maggie had cooked the vegetables and was just taking the casserole out of the oven. Jack opened a bottle of red wine and fetched two glasses.
‘Mum seems better than ever. She’s joining some women to start going to bingo once a week.’
‘You didn’t mention anything to her?’
‘No, like I said, she seemed fine. I left her reading Hannah a bedtime story.’
‘I should have gone up to kiss Hannah goodnight,’ Maggie frowned. ‘Never mind, it’s nice to have a quiet evening together and I’m feeling really pooped. We had a long day today, lots of new cancer cases taking up beds, and as usual we’re awfully short-staffed.’
Jack nodded. ‘I called Ridley again and left another message. It’s all very odd.’
‘Maybe he is ill again, and just wants his privacy?’ Maggie suggested. ‘You could always go round to his place and find out; although if he wants you, or anyone else, to know I’m sure he’ll contact you.’
‘Yeah, you’re probably right... perhaps I’ll pay him a visit at the weekend.’
Jack ate hungrily, and they drank almost an entire bottle of wine between them, before Maggie, her eyes drooping from tiredness, said she was going to have a shower and go to bed. Jack said he would clear up and then join her. He loaded the plates and cutlery into the dishwasher, washed up the casserole dish, wiped the work surfaces, then filled his glass with the last of the wine before switching off the lights and going upstairs to his office.
Opening his briefcase, Jack took out his notes on the investigation and listed his meetings for the following day. First thing he had the appointment with the psychiatrist, to discuss Rodney Middleton’s previous medical history. He knew he would be given the usual blather about client confidentiality but was hoping that as Middleton was no longer a patient, he might actually be able to glean some information. He had checked, as Clarke had suggested getting a warrant, but had been informed he did not need one as Middleton had signed a statement saying police could access his medical records. This was unusual and made Jack feel as if Middleton might be adept at playing the system. Jack had also arranged an interview with Amanda Dunn, Middleton’s girlfriend, at her hostel in Shepherd’s Bush. Middleton’s lawyer had informed Jack that she had moved out of the flat they had previously shared.
By the time Jack had showered, Maggie was fast asleep in bed. He tried not to wake her as he climbed in beside her. More often than not she slept so soundly that he joked it would take a bomb blast to wake her. He switched off the bedside light and lay down with his back to her. Just as he was dozing off, he heard low murmurs from Penny’s bedroom above. He turned over, suspecting that she had probably left her TV on and fallen asleep. He lay on his back, eyes wide open, as the murmur continued, then got up with a sigh of irritation and crept up the stairs to Penny’s bedroom, standing outside and listening. It wasn’t the television. Penny was having a lengthy conversation with someone on the phone. Jack knew his mother had a mobile; in fact, he had insisted on buying her one in case of an emergency when she was out, but he had never heard or seen her using it. Jack paid the bills, so he knew that she very rarely, if ever, made calls. He heard her laughing, then felt as if he was spying on her, and quickly headed back down to his bedroom.
Jack slid into bed and lay back trying to listen but there was no more murmuring so he assumed she must have ended her call. He thought about what Maggie had said and knew that his mum’s forgetfulness was a bit of a concern. However, Maggie had insinuated that Penny might have signs of dementia, in addition to the normal symptoms of old age. Jack felt that Maggie was probably being over-pessimistic as she had been dealing with a number of very elderly patients during the pandemic, many of whom did have dementia.