Paparazzi by Jo Fenton (best free e reader .txt) 📕

It’s time to go and see what Joanna has been up to. I can’t believe it’s so busy that I’ve not had time to speak to her yet. I’m about to leave the house when Joanna calls me.

“I’ve just had a call from Penny. She’s in a right state. Three of her friends have been killed. She couldn’t say anything else on the phone, but she wants to see us straight away. She’s getting a taxi and she’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Three more people are dead. All because of me. So why have I not achieved my goal?

The target is distraught. What do I need to do to make myself indispensable?

I need to get closer. I have to be available.

No more death – for a while at least. There are still cards to play…

Chapter Thirty-Three

I’m at Joanna’s within ten minutes. She’s got sandwiches on a plate and crisps in a bowl.

“Help yourself. Better to eat now, rather than in the face of tragedy.”

“What exactly did Penny say?”

“It was hard to make head or tail of it to be honest. She sounded pretty incoherent. I got that three of her friends are dead, and there was a suggestion of foul play, but don’t ask me exactly why she thinks that.”

I help myself to a tuna sandwich. “Lovely chunky bread. Did you have this in already?”

“No. I got Will to nip up the road to the bakery as soon as Penny had called. Nice, isn’t it?”

“Where is Will?”

“Shaving. He’ll be down in a minute. He wants to observe the meeting. We decided it would be better not to introduce him at this stage.”

I’ve just got time to finish the sandwich when the doorbell rings. I adjourn to the lounge while Joanna gets the door. Penny half-stumbles into the room. Her eyes are red-rimmed and she’s devoid of any make-up. She’s even paler than usual.

“Come in and sit down.” I put my hand on her arm and guide her to the armchair.

“Thanks.” She sniffs and I pass her a box of tissues that Joanna has thoughtfully placed on the coffee table.

“When you’re ready, why don’t you tell us what’s happened?” I sit in the other armchair, within touching distance so I can comfort her easily.

Joanna brings her a glass of water from the kitchen. She gives me a brief tilt of her head and a wink. I assume she means that Will is watching the CCTV from his laptop upstairs. He got the audio sorted very easily within a day of his arrival. He’s a useful addition to the team, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to stay. That’s another conversation for another day.

I return my attention to Penny, who’s sipping the water, but hasn’t starting talking yet.

“Come on, lass,” says Joanna, becoming more Scottish with suppressed irritation. “We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us.”

“Okay.” Penny gives another snivel, blows her nose on the tissue, then sits up straight. “When I was at uni, I had three really close friends. I found out last night that they’d all been killed in a burglary a few days ago. They still lived together.”

“Where did this happen?” I ask.

“In Huddersfield.”

“Can you give me their names?” I take out a notepad and pen.

“I already wrote them down for you.” She fishes out a piece of paper from her handbag and hands it to me. There are three names listed: Kim Parker, Jennifer Russell and Leigh Brooks.

“Thanks. Do you know exactly what happened?” I have a slight niggling feeling, but I can’t yet pinpoint why.

“I’m not sure of the details. I think they were home asleep when the burglars broke in. They were found dead by the police next day after a neighbour was alerted by the broken window.”

Although she’s upset, I can’t get rid of the suspicion that this is not the cause. I must do some digging here.

“How well did you know the girls?”

She looks at me in disgust. “I already told you, they were my best friends at uni. We lived together for three years, first in a flat, then we moved out of uni accommodation and found that house in Huddersfield. But after graduation, I got a job here, and had to move to Manchester. They got jobs that paid well enough for them to cover the rent of the extra room. It gave them some living space, which was good.” She puts her head down and covers her face with her hands. “Oh God, I can’t believe they’re gone.”

I pat her shoulder repeatedly for a moment. If she is acting, she’s doing a pretty good job of it, but my niggles haven’t completely gone away. I let them lie for now though. I glance at my watch, and then at Joanna. It’s ten to two, and we need to leave in ten minutes to get to our meeting with Troy.

“Why don’t you have some more water?” Joanna passes her the glass, and she takes a sip. “I don’t think today is the day for any more questions. You need to go home and get some rest. Is there anyone who can come and look after you?”

“My mum lives in London and all my friends are now dead, so no.”

“What about a neighbour?” Joanna’s persistence is admirable. I’m fighting an inexplicable urge to give Penny a slap. Shocking really – I’m not usually so unsympathetic.

“I’ll be okay by myself. Everyone in my block keeps themselves to themselves. I like it that way.” She takes another tissue and blows her nose. “I’d better be going. You’ve got a lot to do if you’re going to trace the burglar that killed them. Because I was wondering if it had anything to do with the fact that I should have been staying there that night. I cancelled last minute because of a migraine, but what if my stalker thought I would be there, and instigated the break-in?”

“That’s important information, Penny. Thanks for telling us. We’ll