Читать книгу Creatures of the Chase - Yusuf - L. M. Ollie - Страница 7

The house was old, almost derelict and so was the neighbourhood. ‘Was this all Sarah could afford?’ Yakinchuk thought to himself as he knocked on the front door. It was answered by a young woman, perhaps twenty-five years old. She was dressed in a baggy pair of sweat pants and an equally baggy tee-shirt. The costume was cunningly crafted to hide the fact that she was grossly overweight. It failed miserably.

‘Are you Janet Lanskey,’ he asked. She nodded. ‘I’m Detective Inspector Victor Yakinchuk.’ Her eyes were reduced to two matching squints as she inspected his badge. ‘I would like to ask you a few questions about a former roommate – Sarah Winthrope Churchill.’

‘Sarah’s dead,’ Janet replied flatly. ‘I ah … look, I’ve got to get ready for work so …’

Yakinchuk could hear someone at the back of the house. ‘Hey Jan, who are you talking to?’

‘He’s a policeman asking about Sarah.’

A pleasant looking young woman, again in the mid-twenties age range, appeared out of the gloom. She looked Yakinchuk up and down and liked what she saw. Displaying all the predatory traits of a female preying mantis, she suggested he come inside. He did, ending up in a squalid little living room which reeked of cigarette smoke and, unless he was very much mistaken, marijuana.

‘I’m Heather; what do you want to know about Sarah?’ she asked, smiling.

‘I understand that Miss Churchill attended the New Year’s Eve Ball at the Fenshaw with a Michael Kendall. Is that correct?’

‘Yeah,’ they both replied simultaneously.

‘It’s a costume ball so what was she wearing on the night?’

They both laughed but it was Janet who answered. ‘A harem costume; pants and a sort of bra top with layer after layer of veil material; very sexy. I’ll tell you what, she wasn’t too pleased about Davie’s selection.’

‘Yeah,’ Heather added, ‘for a while there we weren’t sure if she would even try it on but, hey it wasn’t that bad. She sure looked nice in it.’ Her smile faded. ‘After I heard about the accident, I kept thinking, I hope she had a good time at the Ball; stupid eh?’

‘Not at all,’ Yakinchuk assured her. ‘That is a very typical response to such a tragic event. Tell me, what colour was the costume?’

Heather shrugged. ‘It was mostly shades of green, wasn’t it Jan?’

‘Yeah,’ Jan replied, ‘and it came with little gold sandals with tiny bells on them and some fake gold bracelets. I think there were some green sequins on it too.’

‘And the shawl; what can you two tell me about that?’

‘The shawl was mine,’ Janet said. ‘I thought she needed it because it wasn’t that warm a night and … It was a white acrylic; nothing special.’ She eyed Yakinchuk with a degree of suspicion. ‘What’s this all about anyway?’

He ignored her question. ‘Miss Churchill moved in when?’

‘Before the school year started; mid to late August I think,’ Heather said as she exchanged a quick glance with Janet. ‘So, are you going to tell us what this is all about or what?’

‘Just routine,’ he said as casually as possible. ‘Would either of you have a picture of Sarah; I mean Miss Churchill?’

Janet just stared at him. Finally she relented. ‘Heather, go find those shots we took when we put up the Christmas tree.’

Moments later Heather returned with half a dozen photos. ‘I wish I was that photogenic,’ she said as she handed the photographs to Yakinchuk.

He hesitated, almost afraid to look at her but when he did, his heart leapt as he stared down at the most beautiful girl he could ever possibly imagine. ‘She was very pretty,’ he managed.

‘Petty!’ Janet replied derisively, ‘she wasn’t just pretty; she was beautiful. Too bad Miss Ice Queen was such a bitch.’ Yakinchuk looked up in surprise. ‘Yeah, add that to your routine report,’ she growled. ‘She was always behind in her rent but she always managed to have enough money to buy expensive face creams; for what I ask you?

‘And I’ll tell you something else for nothing. She was crazy too. She’d buy pomegranates when they were in season; never seemed to matter to her how expensive they were. She’d eat a little each day. I got sick and tired of seeing them in the fridge in the same deep bowl getting smaller and smaller. How weird is that?

‘And she never dated; never showed any interest in guys and let me tell you, there were plenty around who would gladly have …’ She stopped abruptly as tears welled up. ‘Hell, she’s dead so … Shit!’

Heather comforted her friend. ‘Inspector, Janet has got to get ready for work so if you, ah …’

‘Yes, of course,’ he said taking the hint immediately. From the six photos he chose one. ‘Do you mind if I keep this one for the file?’

‘No,’ Heather said sadly as she took the remaining photos from him. She followed Yakinchuk as he headed for the door. ‘I was wondering why you haven’t asked about Davie? He died in that accident too.’

Yakinchuk turned and smiled. ‘We have all the information we need on Mr. Kendall. Ladies, thank you. I’m sorry if I have taken up too much of your valuable time.’

He grappled with the door knob for a moment but managed to make it outside and down the broken concrete steps.

Heather closed the door then turned to Janet. ‘I was just thinking, should we have mentioned that man from the university. You know, the one that came here asking all those questions about her?’

Janet shrugged. ‘I don’t see why. Heather like it or not, she’s dead, gone and that’s the end of it.’

Heather’s face contorted in anger. ‘I don’t think so!’ She hurried into the kitchen.

Janet could hear cupboard doors being open then slammed shut. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

Heather reappeared, holding a large white envelope. ‘You make me sick Janet; you really do. Tom told me what you and Davie had planned for Sarah after the Ball. He also told me that Davie had VD. Did you know that or didn’t you care? Where you that jealous of her that you would have let … No wonder he dumped you, you bitch.’

She tore out of the house running as fast as she could to catch Yakinchuk before he drove away.

*****

Yakinchuk was in the process of unlocking his car door when she arrived, breathless. ‘Excuse me, I …’ She handed him the envelope. ‘This is all Sarah’s stuff including her passport. I guess you ah … well, there’s no one left to give it to, so …’ She swallowed hard. ‘There are some things I wanted to say.’

‘Yes?’

It took her a moment or two to catch her breath and organize her thoughts. Her whole body trembled. ‘Why did Sarah and Davie leave the Ball before midnight? Why would they want to miss out on the grand finale and all that free food afterwards? Knowing Davie he would have stuffed his face and his pockets.’ She tried to smile. ‘And what were they doing away out on Route Five when they were meant to come back here?’ She stepped back, suddenly afraid. ‘And why did Davie’s car burn so fiercely when I know for a fact that there was very little gas in that tank?’ When she looked up at Yakinchuk there were tears in her eyes.

‘What are you suggesting Heather?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘I don’t know … I don’t know.’ She wiped her eyes with the tips of her fingers. ‘A man came to see Jan and me one day when Sarah was at school. He said that he was from the university and that they were considering offering her a scholarship. He asked all sorts of questions about her; even personal stuff. That was when I told him about her father.’

‘What about her father?’

‘Sarah was sixteen when her mother died. Her mother was in real estate and I gather quite successful because she set up a trust fund for Sarah; a trust fund to help her through medical school. Her father found out about it. Somehow he managed to get hold of the money. Sarah never said how much exactly but it would have been enough to see her through for another three years at least. He considered the money his you see because Sarah’s mother had lied to him; hiding her commissions and …’ She sighed. ‘Long story made short, he and his new girlfriend spent every penny. That Thanksgiving he told Sarah that he was pulling her out of med school at the end of the term. He had signed her up for a Medical Secretary course and that was what she was going to do; like it or not. Sarah was devastated.

‘I felt so sorry for her. She had no brothers or sisters; no one. Jan and I spent Christmas with our families. Sarah stayed here, alone, without any money and no food in the house. She deserved better.

‘The university college held a memorial service for Sarah and Davie a week after the accident. Sarah’s dad was there; drunk as a skunk.’ Heather looked at Yakinchuk sharply. ‘Did you know he killed himself that same evening?’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘Yeah well, so the story goes he killed Sarah’s German shepherd dog Dolly before he … I don’t know whether it’s true or not but we were told that he beat the animal to death with a hammer. How sick is that? Shit! I’m sorry, I …’ Heather dissolved into tears; perhaps the most bitter ones of all – tears of regret.