The laughter started up again, but this time she couldn’t hear it as well and another spray of earth landed on the coffin. With numbing fingers, she reached for the string, taking two attempts to grab hold of it and wrap it around her wrist to gain some purchase. She began to pull over and over again, banging her elbow with each tug. The string slackened. She pulled it more and more, winding it around her two hands until the end flew through the hole with a final flick against her cheek.
All she wanted to do was cuddle Miffy and be in her bed. She dug what was left of her nails into the gap and felt the weight of the earth pressing on the wood above. She could see no way out. Goodbye Mum, Dad and Miffy.
Chapter Two
Now
Monday, 26 October
‘I’m glad you could make it.’ DCI Chris Briggs sipped his coffee in their usual seat at Lucy’s Café. Even sitting down, he appeared tall. His greying brown mottled hair had flopped forward, giving him that off-duty look. At this precise moment, it didn’t feel like he was her boss and she was his detective inspector, they were just two friends having a coffee together.
Gina glanced at the fake cobwebs and pipe cleaner spiders that adorned the café windows, ready for Halloween. The new owners had done such a good job since taking over. ‘I’m glad you asked me to come.’ Gina waved a hand to the woman in the apron who was frantically cleaning the table that a family had just left.
‘Have you got any plans for your break yet?’ The coffee cup looked tiny in his shovel-like hand.
‘I have. I’ve booked a spa break. I’ll be away from Wednesday and, for once, I can’t wait.’
‘I didn’t have you down as the type to enjoy relaxing.’
‘I’m not. My daughter keeps telling me I need to try it.’ She pressed her lips together. Having some stranger’s hands kneading her back and painting her toenails fuchsia pink didn’t sound altogether appealing, but she had promised she’d try it at some point and after seeing a cheap break online, she booked it on a whim.
‘Is Hannah going with you? A bit of mother-daughter time?’
‘I haven’t told her I’m going. I’ve only told you. I thought, if I hate it, I can just come home and no one will be disappointed in me. If I go with her and I even look like I hate it for a second, she’ll never let me forget. I suppose I should have asked her, but it really is safer this way.’
‘Maybe next time?’
Gina pulled a horrified face and broke into a titter. ‘You always did know how to make me laugh.’
He looked into her eyes for a moment longer than usual.
She smiled and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. For once she’d made an effort, curling her hair to frame her face rather than it all falling down in an unruly mop. ‘Looks like that last lot of customers had a bit of a food fight.’
There were pieces of what looked like tuna sandwich mashed underneath the highchair, crisps all over the table and a spilled cup of hot chocolate dowsed in soggy napkins. The café owner looked up, not realising that she’d smeared cocoa dust across her forehead. ‘I’ll be with you in a tick.’ She brushed the errant strands of dark wavy hair away from her face.
Gina smiled. ‘It’s okay, I’m not desperate.’
‘Liar.’ Briggs knew her too well, better than anyone else at the station would ever know. ‘I can tell you’re beyond gasping for a proper coffee, not that machine stuff or cheap instant muck at the station.’
She held her hands up, rolling her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. ‘You got me.’ She looked across the room and spotted Cyril and June, the elderly couple who seemed to live here. June always knitted a few rows of the scarf she was working on while Cyril tried to do a crossword. The woman who sat in the corner peering through her large glasses was always alone and always reading a classic – this time it was Crime and Punishment. She was a people watcher and Gina could identify with her. Gina wondered what she might think of her and Briggs. Two colleagues enjoying a coffee, or past lovers trying to hide their feelings? A woman wearing heavy black boots and a vicar’s dog collar left. Gina watched her as she ran across the road towards the church, takeaway coffee in hand. Then, Gina glanced at June again, just as she was whispering into Cyril’s ear while looking at Gina. Gina frowned and looked away.
‘Coffee?’ Lucy wiped the sweat from her brow as she placed the broom against the window and exhaled. ‘Your usual… Let me guess.’ She closed her eyes and clicked her fingers a couple of times. ‘I make a lot of coffees but here goes: Americano with a spot of skimmed milk.’ She pointed at Gina.
‘That’s right, thank you.’ Gina smiled as the woman wrote it on an old-fashioned order pad.
‘Bill.’ She called across the room to the man with a slight hunch and a full head of grey hair. ‘Americano, spot of skimmed.’ She pointed to Gina. The man turned his back on them and set to work, making the drink. ‘Bill’s my dad – and you are? I hate pointing to you guys when you come in because I don’t know what to call you. What are your names?’
Gina cleared her throat. ‘Gina and Chris.’ It was rare that she got to introduce him to someone as Chris and she almost felt a warm flutter running through her body as she said his name. They were both out together, socialising, albeit only in a platonic way while enjoying a coffee. It had become a regular occurrence where they discussed life, the news and the cases that they were working on.
The server pointed to her name badge. ‘I’m Lucy.’ She turned to the counter. ‘The Americano’s for Gina, make it snappy, Bill.’
Bill stared in Gina’s direction for a second longer than she was comfortable with. Gina smiled and he looked away. When she glanced back, he was making her drink. Lucy hurried to the counter, her flat shoes slapping on the stone floor.
‘There you go.’ Bill winked and handed the coffee to her.
‘Thanks.’ Lucy took the drink from her dad. He smiled, then continued reducing the prices on the leftover sandwiches that hadn’t been sold at lunchtime. ‘One Americano. I’ve got a tab open for you both. Just flag me down when you want to pay.’ She tore the duplicate copy of the order and left it on the table along with a couple of beautifully wrapped chocolates. ‘New line, thought you might like to try them.’
‘Thank you. They are most welcome.’ Briggs reached over and his hair flopped forward, covering his forehead.
Gina noticed that he was wearing the casual shirt that she’d bought him when they were in a serious – but secret – relationship. ‘What’ve you been up to then?’
‘Today? Nothing. I’ve binge-watched season one of Stranger Things on Netflix and walked the dog, that’s all. Oh, I made a chilli, there’s a box of it for you in the car. I know you don’t cook. How was work today?’
Gina sat back in the swirly pink armchair and enjoyed the warmth of the vintage bulbs with the quirky filaments glowing above. The furniture was a mixture of comfy and colourful, made of reclaimed metal and wood. ‘As you know, we’ve charged someone with the assault on Hanger Road. So, all in all, a good day, not too taxing.’ She unwrapped a chocolate and popped it in her mouth.