FORTY-SEVEN

9.50 P.M.

‘You know they ain’t gonna like this one little bit,’ Bryant said as they got out of the car.

‘It’s hardly the middle of the night,’ she said as she knocked the door.

‘Not for us,’ he said, pointing to the front window.

There was no need. She’d already clocked that there appeared to be no lights on.

She knocked again.

Lights went on, and footsteps sounded as they approached the door.

‘How many times have I told you…?’

Mrs Lane stopped speaking as she realised they weren’t whoever she’d been expecting. Her expression changed from mild irritation to outrage.

‘May we come in, Mrs Lane?’ Kim asked pleasantly.

‘No, you may not. How dare you make house calls at this time of night.’

‘May we speak to Mr Lane?’ Kim asked.

‘I can’t even imagine what you’d want with my husband, but he’s not here. Please call at a more reasonable time,’ she said, attempting to close the door on them.

The dour woman appeared to still be aggravated that they’d disrupted Sunday lunchtime earlier, and, quite frankly, Kim was starting to feel less tolerant of people with a fucking bad attitude.

She placed her foot in the doorway. ‘And where might he be?’ she asked, allowing her voice to rise in volume.

‘He’s at the pub,’ Mrs Lane said, lowering her own voice as Kim had hoped she would.

‘Fine, just tell us where and we’ll be on our way,’ Kim said, almost shouting.

Mrs Lane’s face turned panic-stricken as she looked from one neighbouring house to the other.

To some people, appearances were everything.

‘You’d better come in and wait,’ she huffed, pulling her dressing gown tighter around her body.

‘Thank you,’ Kim said as though she hadn’t had to subtly threaten the woman with public humiliation.

‘Wait in there,’ she said, pointing to the lounge and entering the kitchen.

Kim followed her instead, realising the house was awfully quiet for a property with two lads.

‘Sons playing video games?’ Kim asked.

Mrs Lane turned, her face contorted with horror. Kim first thought it was due to not realising she was being followed to the kitchen instead of leaving her visitors in the lounge as instructed.

‘My boys don’t play idle video games. Derren uses technology only for his college work, and Boyce has no interest in the internet.’

Kim didn’t believe either one of those statements.

‘They’re very quiet, aren’t they?’

‘Derren is at a friend’s house studying, and Boyce is already in bed.’

And the delusion about her younger son continued. Though after meeting Boyce, she could believe he was safely tucked up by 10 p.m.

‘Mrs Lane, while we wait for your husband, would you mind telling us about your family’s relationship with Joanne Deary?’

If Kim had thought the woman looked sour-faced before then, a whole jug of pure lemon juice had been added. The look in her eyes spat venom.

‘There is no relationship with that woman.’

The plot was thickening, Kim thought, stealing a glance at Bryant, who had followed them to the kitchen.

‘Well, there is according to her Instagram post of a birthday party almost a year ago. Is she not your niece?’

‘She’s not related to me by blood. That’s my husband’s side.’

‘You’re not close then?’ Kim asked.

Her face contorted as though there were many responses dying to break free from those pursed lips, but instead, for safety, she just shook her head.

‘But you were at your great-nephew’s sixth birthday party?’

Mrs Lane was saved from answering as the front door opened and Eric Lane appeared.

He pointedly looked at his watch as he approached them. ‘Please explain the meaning of this.’

‘They’re asking about Joanne,’ Mrs Lane blurted out.

Kim remained silent, hoping the man would say something that might offer an answer to the discord in the Lane family.

Joanne had mentioned that she’d been put onto the Seekers site by a relative. Kim had just had no clue that the relative concerned was the purist Eric Lane. Penn had redeemed himself for his earlier outburst after digging up that little nugget.

‘What about her?’ Eric asked, giving away nothing in his words or tone.

‘She has come to our attention as part of the same case that brought us to your door. A bit coincidental, don’t you think?’

‘Not if it’s anything to do with the Seekers site. I suggested she use it during the pandemic. She needed fun things to do with the kids.’

In her peripheral vision, Kim could see Mrs Lane’s expression growing more and more twisted.

Interesting.

‘Well, that was nice of you,’ she said as he removed his jacket.

‘She’s my niece,’ he said flatly.

‘But you’re not close anymore?’

‘Things happen, Inspector,’ he said, brushing past her and heading for the sink. He took a glass and filled it with water before turning back towards her. ‘Families drift apart.’

Mrs Lane’s clenching and unclenching fist belied that it was that simple, but she was unsure if she was just involving herself in family politics. Perhaps it was nothing more serious than Mrs Lane offering too much advice on raising children. Maybe they’d lent Joanne some money at a difficult time and she’d never paid it back. Either way, she wasn’t convinced the answer was going to solve her case, but she did have another thought.

‘She mentioned something about a sexual assault earlier. Just outside Stourport. Did you hear anything about it?’

‘Should I have?’ he asked as Mrs Lane took the water glass from the side and rinsed it.

‘I’d have been surprised if you hadn’t. The victim was a woman following a trail from a free-to-join puzzles website. Surely it was discussed amongst your community?’

He folded his arms and shook his head. ‘Not with me.’

She was prevented from asking anything further as the younger Lane boy breezed in and dropped his backpack on the floor.

‘Well, well, well, it’s you again. Please say you’re arresting them and taking them away,’ he said, glancing at his parents.

Kim heard no edge of humour in his voice, but his mother turned her grimace into a smile.

‘Good study session?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, Ma, awesome.’

Only a woman in denial would offer the satisfied smile that rested on her lips. Kim realised that Mrs Lane had given up any kind of control of this child and chose to pretend his behaviour and attitude were normal so she didn’t have to address it.

Kim watched as Derren threw open the fridge door and started removing ingredients.

‘I fancy an omelette – anyone want one?’

His parents didn’t answer, and Kim suspected the offer didn’t extend to them.

He opened a drawer and chose the larger frying pan at the bottom, causing the whole arrangement to clatter loudly.

‘Shh, don’t wake your brother,’ Mrs Lane said, and the pleading tone wasn’t lost on Kim.

‘Ha, trust me, I ain’t gonna wake him. He isn’t even here.’

‘Of course he’s here,’ Mrs Lane snapped. ‘He went up just before me.’

He shrugged. ‘Have it your own way.’

The boy cracked eggs into a measuring jug as Mrs Lane rushed from the room.

‘Talking of which, did you have a nice night at the pub, Dad?’ Derren asked, looking at him pointedly.

Eric looked away first. ‘Fine, thank you.’

Mrs Lane stormed back into the room. ‘He’s not there, Eric,’ she said as though they were the only two people in the room.

‘Ooooh, where the fuck could the precious good son be at ten o’clock? Not doing anything naughty, is he? He’s twenty years old. He can look after himself. Or maybe he can’t,’ Derren said without turning.

‘Derren, shut up,’ Mrs Lane hissed.

The fact that Derren wasn’t picked up for either his attitude or language by either parent confirmed what Kim had suspected. They had given up.

As though remembering he was the man of the house, Eric turned her way. ‘Inspector, if we’ve answered your questions, will you please leave us in peace?’

She took one last look around the room before heading for the door. Oh, yes, they’d answered the questions she’d had and given her a whole set of new ones.

Why was Mrs Lane so concerned about her adult son being out of the house at 10 p.m.?

Why did Derren hate his parents so much, and what was with the tone in his voice when he asked his dad about being at the pub?

Why had she not caught a whiff of any alcohol from Eric Lane when he had barged past her, just aftershave?

Why couldn’t they wait to get her out of the house?

Kim still didn’t know if Eric was capable of the acts carried out by the Jester, but one thing she did know for sure: something in that family wasn’t right. And when she wasn’t chasing a damn clue, she was going to find out what it was.