Behind Closed Doors (Season One: Book 7) (Jessica Daniel) (13 page)

When nothing happened for a few moments, Jessica turned to see Wayne rocking from side to side unsteadily.

‘I know who you are.’

‘Sorry?’

‘I know who you are!’ He was shouting now, pointing and turning towards the others. Ali moved first, standing and walking towards them. Jessica gripped her spade tighter, her only
line of defence.

‘I know who you are!’

‘Shush.’

‘I know who you are!’

Each cry was louder than the last until Wayne was bellowing at the top of his voice. Ali was too close not to have heard. Over his shoulder, Jessica saw Glenn running. He moved quickly anyway
but now his speed was like an athlete’s.

‘Wayne, stop,’ Jessica hissed but it did no good.

‘Is there a problem?’ Ali asked, nearing them.

Jessica shook her head but Wayne had lost whatever grip he’d had on himself. His eyes were rolling back into his head and there was saliva around his mouth as he shouted one more time.

In an instant, Glenn was there. He didn’t bother asking questions, or listening to whatever either of them had to say; instead he barrelled into Wayne, shoulder-charging him to the floor
and back-handing him viciously. A smear of blood flew across the grass.

‘Druggie, smackhead scum,’ Glenn spat, fists flashing again.

Wayne rolled over to his side, groaning, as Glenn got to his feet, turning to Ali. ‘I told you earlier there was something not right.’

‘He was slurring his words a little but he often does that. I thought he’d just had a bad night’s sleep. He was still digging fine.’

Glenn turned to Jessica. ‘What did he say to you?’

She felt caught, unable to tell the truth but not wanting to see Wayne hurt any further. ‘I’m not sure, he was asking if I wanted help.’

‘What was he shouting?’

‘I don’t—’

‘It was something about knowing who she was,’ Ali interrupted.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t know, he was shouting it at the top of his voice.’

Glenn nodded to Jessica again. ‘Does that mean anything to you?’

She had to lie. ‘No.’

‘That’s what you get when you can’t control yourself.’

Glenn hauled Wayne roughly to his feet, forcefully cupping his chin between his fingers. ‘Where’s your stash?’

Wayne’s eyes were still back in his head and his answer was a faint grumble.

‘Useless,’ Glenn said, tossing him back to the ground.

Jessica’s disapproval must have been apparent as he turned to her, lip curled, pointing towards the driveway. ‘If you don’t like the rules, you can leave any time you like. The
gate’s that way.’

Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Ali’s arm. ‘Moses is going to have to deal with this. Come on, let’s get him inside.’

The two men dragged Wayne for a short distance before Ali helped pull him up and Glenn hoisted him over his shoulder in an almost unbelievable feat of strength. The final word Jessica heard was
a perfectly clear ‘sorry’ from Wayne as he was carried away.

Glenn returned with Ali not long after but there was no sign of Wayne. The rest of the afternoon passed with little interruption other than a break for water and some fruit.
Jessica finished her trench, although it took longer than the time Glenn had predicted. She suspected he had only told her that knowing she would fail.

Just as she was about to ask Glenn what she should do next, Jessica heard him shouting, ‘It’s time’ from the other side of the allotment.

The choice of words wasn’t lost on her. She hadn’t noticed if he wore a watch but he must have some way of telling the time, which she doubted was anything to do with the fact that
the sun was dipping over the top of the house. As the other workers began carrying their tools towards the building, Jessica followed them around to the front and through the door, which had been
unlocked for them. She had wondered if there was some sort of shed or other outside place where things might be left but the tools were placed in a large, locked cupboard in one of the rooms close
to the entrance. There were plenty of other supplies there too: mops, buckets, fold-down tables and chairs. Before Jessica could look any closer, Glenn was ushering her away, fixing a large padlock
through the metal hoops. She noticed a selection of keys clipped to his belt. Unlike Moses, they weren’t all fixed to one large ring; instead they were separated into twos or threes, running
the entire way around his waist.

‘What?’ he asked aggressively, noticing Jessica’s wandering eyes.

‘Nothing, sorry . . .’

Jessica turned to see Zipporah nearby with a half-smile on her face. She beckoned Jessica over with a nod of her head.

‘How was your first day working here, dear?’ she asked as they began walking along the corridor.

‘Hard.’

Zipporah laughed. ‘“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”’

‘Is that—?’

‘It’s from Proverbs.’

‘I’m afraid I don’t know the Bible very well.’

Zipporah led her through another corridor until they reached the base of the stairs. She sat on the second step, patting the space next to her. Jessica felt her back crack as she sat.

‘Being here isn’t really about the Bible. We use the stories and verses to help us have a framework but some of us believe more than others. Galatians talks about ‘the fruits
of the Spirit, one of those fruits being kindness’. In Leviticus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Romans, Galatians and James, it says to love your neighbour as yourself. Principles like that are more
important than exact knowledge of scripture.’

Jessica wanted to ask how that could tally with the way she had seen Wayne beaten outside, simply because he had given into temptation at some point. She didn’t have to speak because
Zipporah answered anyway, as if reading her mind. ‘I don’t necessarily approve of everything my husband and people like Glenn might get up to but the important thing is keeping the
majority of people safe and away from their demons. Sometimes things might happen in strange ways because of that. We just have to trust that people are acting in our best interests.’

Jessica didn’t speak for a while, slightly disconcerted by the fact Zipporah appeared to know what had happened. It perhaps wasn’t a surprise, she was married to Moses after all, but
Jessica was now wondering if the woman had deliberately sought her out after she returned inside.

‘Don’t forget you can always come to me if you have a problem or want to ask a question.’

‘I will.’

Jessica wondered if there were any other family members lining up to tell her the same thing. Perhaps Katie could offer her a shoulder to cry on too, meaning the trio would have something to
chat about whenever they got together in whatever bizarre relationship it was they had.

Zipporah started to say something but stopped herself as Glenn walked past, doing a double-take when he saw them on the stairs. ‘What are you doing, Zip?’

‘Just talking.’

He nodded sharply. ‘Time to go.’

Without looking backwards, he strode away, Zipporah running to catch him up.

The top Jessica had chosen for the evening meal was larger than the dress Heather had made. As she ate, she found herself constantly tugging at the loose material around her
hips, trying to make it fit. Everyone seemed to have the same seats, with Naomi diagonally across from her eating in silence and Glenn constantly scanning the people opposite him, making sure
everything was as it should be. The meal itself was more or less the same as it had been the previous day, except that the meat had been prepared in a different way.

When the tables had been cleared, Moses rose, holding his hands out for a silence he already had. ‘Tomorrow is market day,’ he said, ‘and it has been another bumper week. I
thank you all for your wonderful efforts. Zip has already approached the people she is taking with her. Please do not be offended if you are not included. We all have our roles to play.’

Jessica hadn’t been told anything, even though she’d had a conversation with Zipporah, so assumed she was staying in the house the following day.

Moses continued, reading a passage from the Bible about forgiveness. Jessica found it hard to concentrate but remembered the final line: ‘If you forgive men when they sin against you, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’

‘With that,’ Moses continued, ‘I have some grave news. Our brother Wayne has left these premises.’

There were gasps at the far end of the table. Moses nodded, waiting for everyone to quieten again.

‘I know. I am as disappointed as the rest of you. Unfortunately Wayne lost his battle with the demons that had been haunting him. He asked for the forgiveness of us all which was, of
course, granted. Unfortunately, we all know what the penalties have to be for such lapses. It is not because we don’t forgive him, nor because we do not wish him well, it is for the good of
everyone still present. Many of you are still fighting those same demons that Wayne has been dealing with and it wouldn’t be fair to any of you to see what he has to go through. If any of you
would like to speak to either Zip or myself, we will be here for you.’

Afterwards, they all headed off to their study session. Jessica was in the same group as the evening before but instead of talking about themselves, in the wake of Wayne leaving everyone was
invited to share a memory of how alcohol or drugs had affected their lives. Jessica was asked to go first and she told the story of how a former colleague had been stabbed in a bar after leaving
himself vulnerable through alcohol. She didn’t tell them it was the person who helped her become the police officer that she was, instead allowing everyone to believe it was someone she
worked with at the post office. There was applause and tears, even though Jessica didn’t feel that emotional. She couldn’t think of Harry Thomas without remembering the bad thing too.
The ghost of that still hung over everything in Jessica’s life, even all these years later.

As they went around the circle, it was more of the same. More misery, more heartbreak, more bad decisions and many more tears. Jessica didn’t know how many evenings of this she could take.
It was too hard to take yourself out of the room, to switch off and pretend human beings weren’t pouring out their souls to one another.

People are people.

It was no wonder the residents seemed to be such emotional wrecks. After another few weeks of this, Jessica would be the same as everyone else. As she heard one of the younger girls say her
mother had been killed by a drink-driver, leaving her an orphan in a children’s home where she was abused, Jessica felt the lump in her throat building again. Despite her suspicions about
Moses and Glenn, she had to remember that there were a lot of vulnerable people here too, who deserved to be looked after. Whatever happened, whatever she found out, it had to include getting them
to safety.

After the session, people began to drift off to do their own things. Heather was outside the games room waiting for her but Jessica said she was feeling tired from working in the gardens and
that they could catch up later.

Leaving Heather behind, Jessica went to the bedroom, closing the door behind her and grabbing the phone from under the mattress. In the bathroom, she shut the door and sat on the toilet before
calling Charley.

She answered before it could ring a second time. ‘What have you got?’

‘Don’t you ever say “hello”?’

‘Hello. Now what have you got?’

Jessica spoke quickly, telling her about the assault on Wayne.

‘Where has he gone?’

‘I don’t know, Moses said he’d left the house.’

‘He didn’t elaborate?’

‘No.’

‘And you didn’t see him leave?’

‘No.’

‘All right, I’ll get some of our people on it. If he did leave, he might have got a taxi or a train. Do you know where he’s from?’

‘He knew me. He’s from Manchester.’

Charley had a moment of panic that Jessica had been recognised, but she finally accepted that her colleague was still safe.

‘We’ll get a few people out talking to homeless people in Manchester in that case,’ she said. ‘If that’s where he’s returned then somebody should know. If
Moses was telling the truth and he’s out, then he might be willing to talk.’

‘Do you think he’s telling the truth?’

Charley paused for a moment, clearing her throat. ‘The very fact you’re asking tells me you have your doubts. If he’s not left the house or the grounds that means he’s
still somewhere there. If that’s the case, then that’s why you’re there.’

‘I’m doing my best!’

Jessica had inadvertently raised her voice but checked herself, repeating it more quietly to prove to no one in particular that she could.

She stood, walking to the centre of the bathroom, hunching over and resting her forehead on the sink. The coolness of the hard material was reassuring.

‘What else is going on?’ Charley asked.

‘Moses keeps his office locked. I was in there earlier.’

‘Why’s it locked?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You’ve got to find out.’

‘I know! I know what I’m doing.’

She was shouting again.

Another pause. When she spoke again, Charley’s tone was lighter, friendlier. ‘Jessica.’

‘What?’

‘Are you okay?’

She thought of the way Moses had touched her, the endless manipulation of her emotions by hearing story after story of people’s suffering. She definitely wasn’t.

‘I’m fine.’

‘I’m only pushing you on these things because I want you out. I want you safe but I want this to end without anyone being hurt.’

Charley’s voice was calm, reassuring.

‘I know.’

‘Good, what else? Is there anywhere else you can’t go?’

‘I don’t think so but there’s so much to see and I can’t check everywhere because there are people around. Glenn is involved in something. He’s a brute, so strong.
There’s a store cupboard where they keep all sorts of tools and things.’