Behind Closed Doors (Season One: Book 7) (Jessica Daniel) (35 page)

‘You might be able to fool your mates but I know how fucked up you are.’

Cole and Charley each had a hand on Jessica’s shoulder, telling her things were fine. Jessica felt more sorry for Heather than annoyed. Whatever had been going on at the house was based
around the egos of Zipporah, Moses and Glenn, with everyone else drawn into it.

It wasn’t unfamiliar now but Jessica had no idea what time it was, only realising it was night as they moved towards the glass front door where it was dark. She felt tired, trying to
remember the last time she had slept.

As Cole was about to lead her outside, Charley cut in, asking if she could have a moment. Cole nodded, saying he would wait outside, leaving them alone in the porch between two glass doors.

‘Thanks for your help,’ Charley said.

Jessica shrugged, too tired to accept any praise. ‘I just want to go home.’

‘Country life not for you?’

‘Maybe . . . No . . . Perhaps. I don’t know. How did you do it?’

‘What?’

‘Leaving everything and going somewhere completely new.’

Charley bit her bottom lip, thinking. ‘I suppose it’s easy when you have nothing to regret leaving behind.’

‘I suppose . . .’

‘What about you? Do you have something to go back home to?’

‘I don’t know.’

Charley reached into a pocket inside her suit jacket, taking out a business card and passing it over. ‘If you ever want to try something new, I know a few places you could have a look at.
It’d be good to work together again at some point.’

Jessica read Charley’s name on the card and then pocketed it.

‘We’ll be in touch about Moses and everything. I don’t want you to feel you have to do something you don’t want to. I’ll know a lot more tomorrow, so we’ll
talk then.’

‘Okay.’

Jessica was never sure how to say goodbye at the best of times, especially with someone she didn’t really know. The two women hugged briefly and then Jessica went through the main door
into the car park.

The breeze was chilly, the night cloudy. Jessica pulled the blanket around her, realising no one had asked for it back. On the far side of the car park, she could see three figures waiting for
her under a street lamp, leaning against Cole’s 4x4. Even though the only thing she wanted to do was sleep, she couldn’t resist grinning as she trudged across the tarmac.

Initially, no one spoke as Jessica rested against the bonnet watching them. ‘How long have you been here?’ she asked eventually.

DC Izzy Diamond stepped forward, putting an arm around Jessica’s shoulders. ‘About six hours. It’s bloody cold out here and Dave’s spent five hours fifty-nine minutes
talking shite.’

‘What happened to your hair?’

Izzy pulled at a long strand, letting it catch the light. ‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘It’s brown. I’ve only ever seen it red or purple.’

‘This is the natural colour. I fancied something different.’

Jessica held out her free arm, inviting DC Dave Rowlands towards her and giving him a squeeze. ‘It’s good to see you both.’

‘Are you okay?’ Dave asked.

‘Been better, been worse.’

They stepped away, ready to climb into the vehicle when Dave asked the question Jessica had been anticipating: ‘When are you coming back?’

SATURDAY

Jessica sat on the sofa staring at the floor. She remembered the day she and Adam had chosen the sofa, oblivious to the fact that her first choice would have been too big to
get through the door and only settling for this one when he pointed that out.

‘Welcome home,’ she said.

She could feel Adam watching her in silence, waiting for her to acknowledge him. When she peered up, he was sitting cross-legged in the armchair, hands on his knees. He was wearing tight dark
jeans and a T-shirt that showed how skinny he was. It wasn’t just her who had lost weight over the past few months.

‘Is this still home?’ he asked.

‘If you want it to be.’

He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. ‘I told you I would wait – but there’s no point if you have nothing to wait for.’

‘I don’t want you to wait any longer. I want you to stay here for good.’

Adam puffed out his cheeks, breathing out slowly. He sounded so tired. ‘We can’t keep doing this every time something goes wrong.’

‘I know.’

‘What do you want, Jess?’

‘I want you to come home.’

‘That’s not what I’m talking about.’

Jessica looked away again, unable to continue looking at him. It hadn’t been long ago that she had been here by herself, hiding under the window to stop Cole seeing her. It felt like such
a long time had passed.

‘I don’t know what I want.’

‘Do you want to go back to work?’

‘Not right now but yes. I’d have to talk to a few people.’

‘What about us?’

‘I want you to forgive me.’

‘What about everything the doctor said?’

‘If you forgive me, we can see him again. I’ll listen this time.’

Adam uncrossed his legs, moving to sit next to Jessica on the sofa and putting an arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. She felt like she wanted to cry but had such a feeling of emptiness that there was nothing left.

‘Stop saying that.’

‘But I am.’

‘I know and you’ve said it enough times. There’s no manual to cope with everything you’ve been through.’

Jessica closed her eyes. ‘Why are you always so nice to me?’

‘You shouldn’t have to ask that. When you love someone, you’re nice to them.’

‘But I’ve been horrible to you.’

Adam gripped her tighter. ‘You’ve coped with things the only way you know how – relying on yourself. We just have to train you to turn to others. To turn to me.’

‘I can do that.’

Jessica pulled away slightly, peering closely at Adam’s face.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

‘Looking at you.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’re good to look at. And I couldn’t see you properly when you were sat over there. My eyes are going, remember?’

‘I remember.’

‘How is Georgia?’

‘It looks like she’s going to be moving up this way. She’s waiting on a couple of things. We’ll find out later this week.’

‘That’s great . . .’

There was a short silence as Adam waited for her to finally ask the question she had brought him here for. She swallowed hard, before finally whispering it. ‘Are you going to move back
in?’

Adam didn’t hesitate. ‘Yes – but I need you to understand one thing. Not just say you do, but really appreciate what I’m saying.’

‘What?’

Adam took a breath, composing himself. ‘It was my baby too, Jess.’

A few moments earlier, Jessica had felt unable to cry any more but as she grabbed Adam tighter, clutching and clawing at him, breathing him in, she had one final sob for the child they had
lost.

Adam held her back, leaning in and whispering in her ear. ‘Remember what you said when we found out you were pregnant? Let’s do that.’

ALMOST A YEAR AGO

Jessica could feel her heart pounding as she reached forward and picked up the pregnancy-testing stick, deliberately holding the indicator bar downwards.

‘Well?’ Adam asked.

‘Well what?’

‘What does it say?’

‘What do you want it to say?’

Adam grinned. ‘I’m not sure the world’s ready for another mini-you.’

Jessica smiled back. ‘But . . . ?’

‘. . . But, it would be pretty fun inflicting another you on everyone.’

Jessica took a deep breath and could feel her hand trembling. She knew her life could change based on what was on the other side of the stick. A lifetime of being scared of children had suddenly
been replaced by a feeling of being comfortable with one of her own, surprising her more than anyone.

She pressed her thumb across the result and turned it over. ‘Are you ready?’

Adam grinned. ‘For you? Always.’

Jessica smiled back, removing her thumb to show two blue bars, holding them up into the light to make certain there wasn’t just one.

‘What does two mean?’ Adam asked.

Jessica turned the stick over, peering at the back and making an hmming sound. ‘I have no idea.’

‘Aren’t women supposed to know this stuff?’

‘I don’t know, we were never taught about pregnancy tests at school.’ Jessica peered over Adam’s head towards the kitchen of the flat they were staying in that belonged
to her friend Caroline. ‘I threw the box and instructions in the bin,’ she added, handing the stick to Adam and standing up.

He took it from her, before holding it in the air between his thumb and forefinger. ‘Ugh, you’ve had a wee on this!’

Jessica went to the kitchen, hunting through the bin without looking over her shoulder. ‘You’ll be fine. Stop being a baby.’

Finding the leaflet she wanted, she pulled it out of the crumpled box and returned to the sofa, where Adam was holding the stick at arm’s length. She unfolded the instructions, running her
finger down the page until she found what she needed.

‘How many lines are there?’ she asked, deliberately teasing.

‘Two.’

‘Hmm, two lines . . . let me see.’

‘It can’t be that hard to read. How about you hold your own wee stick and I’ll check the page.’

Jessica snatched the paper away before Adam could move, standing in front of him and holding it behind her back.

‘Guess what?’

‘What?’

‘We’re going to have a baby.’

Adam dropped the stick as Jessica dropped the paper. He knelt in front of her, lifting her shirt and rubbing the area below her stomach. When he spoke, his voice cracked.
‘Really?’

‘Really.’

‘Wow.’

‘Can we make a pact?’ Jessica asked.

Adam hadn’t taken his eyes from her skin, running his fingers along gently. ‘What?’

Jessica rested a hand on the back of his head, stroking his hair. ‘Regardless of whether it’s a boy or a girl, whether they’re straight or gay, beautiful or annoying, shouty
like me or calm like you. Whatever we’ve made, let’s make sure we never forget this feeling. Deal?’

His reply was instant. ‘Deal.’

COMING SOON

CROSSING THE LINE

Jessica Daniel Book 8

Nitric acid, baseball bats and HIV-filled syringes: people are being attacked publicly by a masked figure in the centre of Manchester, and Jessica Daniel doesn’t know how
to catch the person responsible.

Not that she’ll get much help from the media – it’s been twenty-five years since the notorious Stretford Slasher was caught, and those who can remember are feeling
nostalgic.

With the city held in a wintry grip, Jessica has a caseload stacking up and an old friend to look after – and all while she’s wilting under the shadow of secrets a
quarter-of-a-century old.

COMING SOON

SOMETHING WICKED

The first book featuring
Private Investigator Andrew Hunter

Nicholas Carr disappeared on his eighteenth birthday and the world has since moved on. His girlfriend has gone to university, his friends have got jobs and the police have
other cases to investigate.

But his father, Richard, is still hung up on the three fingers the police dug up from a sodden Manchester wood. What happened to Nicholas on the night he disappeared and why did he never come
home?

Private Investigator Andrew Hunter is Nicholas’s last hope – but Andrew has his own problems. There’s something about his assistant that isn’t quite right. Jenny’s
brilliant but reckless and he can’t work out what she stands to gain from their working relationship. By the time he figures out who’s a danger and who’s not, it might all be too
late . . .

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Despite two national newspaper reports to the contrary, Kerry Wilkinson is male. Honestly.

His debut,
Locked In
, the first title in the detective Jessica Daniel series, was written as a challenge to himself but became a UK Number One Kindle bestseller within three months of
release.

His three initial Jessica Daniel books made him Amazon UK’s top-selling author for the final quarter of 2011. When
Think of the Children
followed in 2013, he became the first
formerly self-published British author to have an ebook Number One and reach the top twenty of the UK paperback chart.

Following
Playing with Fire
and
Thicker Than Water
,
Behind Closed Doors
is the seventh title in the Jessica Daniel series.

Kerry has a degree in journalism, plays cricket badly and complains about the weather a lot. He was born in Somerset but now lives in Lancashire, thus explaining the climate gripes.

Website:
www.kerrywilkinson.com
or
www.panmacmillan.com

Twitter:
twitter.com/kerrywk

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/JessicaDanielBooks

[email protected]

By Kerry Wilkinson