Read Online Finding Jennifer Jones by Anne Cassidy - Free Book Online Page A

me,” she said.
    He shook his head.
    “It doesn’t surprise me that you’re interested in our crime scene. See it, over there? We always erect a covering of some sort to keep prying eyes away, to keep the scene of crime intact. That way we can make sure that any evidence is collected. I’m forgetting though. You’re no stranger to a crime scene. You’ve been at one yourself. Tell me, Jennifer, what was it like?”
    “Stop it,” she said.
    She stepped the other way, trying to edge past him, but he stood fast against her and she felt the knots from the trunk of the tree sticking into her back.
    “When you hit her, Jennifer, what did it feel like? To have a person’s life in your hands?”
    “Leave me alone!”
    “Would you like to see this crime scene? They’ll be gone soon and I can arrange to show it to you. I can point to the place where the body was,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
    “Get out of my way!”
    “I was one of the first people on the scene. She was under some bushes and covered with loose leaves and branches. All pretty rudimentary, as if done in a hurry. Not unlike your history, Jennifer. You tried to bury someone, didn’t you? Not very well, as I understood it. I’ve read about it, see? I’m that kind of policeman. I do my homework.”
    She was on the brink of crying. Her throat was bursting with anger and she roughly pushed him away with both hands. He stumbled back, taken by surprise. She brushed past him, running down the steps, tearing along the path until she came out onto the road. A car passed by, its windscreen wipers swinging back and forth. She went through the car park, her jaw trembling, her eyes misting. She strode out across the hard wet sand and headed for the very edge of the sea. The tide was trickling in, the water barely deep enough to edge up the side of her trainers. She looked back up towards the café and the car park.
    He was there, standing watching her.
    She turned to face the sea. It was pitted with rain.
    What if she were to walk into the sea and not come back? If she let the salt water claim her, take her away? She pictured herself under the surface, the silence sucking her down, her mouth open, her eyes seeing emerald green before everything went black.
    She wasn’t brave enough to do that though.
    When she turned back to the shore DC Kelsey had gone.
    She trudged along the beach in the direction of her house. It took longer going back, the wind and rain in her face. She was soaked by the time she got there and was relieved to see that everyone was out. Sally and Ruth had gone to work and Jimmy had left.
    She sat on her bed. She knew she couldn’t go to work. She sent a text to Aimee saying she was ill. Then she got undressed, pulled the duvet up round her head and closed her eyes.

Eleven
    She had to go to work on Wednesday because it was Aimee’s morning off and she was in charge. There was an older woman with her, Grace, a volunteer part-time worker. Grace was talking to some young people about boat trips, showing them leaflets and explaining how to book tickets. Kate left her to it and got back onto the computer to finish some paperwork.
    She was updating the details on accommodation at bed and breakfast establishments. There were a number of old businesses but she’d also noticed a whole raft of homeowners offering just one double room en suite. She made a note to contact other tourist information centres to see if they had the same thing happening in their area. It might be possible, she thought, to develop a whole new page for the website offering this type of accommodation.
    She was glad to be busy. After she’d finished she made some coffee for her and Grace. While she was drinking it her eye settled on one of the vintage seaside posters that they had on the wall of the shop. It was a cartoon drawing of a family walking energetically along the esplanade. The adults had formal clothes on, the man wearing a suit and a hat. The boy was