For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes.

*************

24th August 2023

I jump onto the pavement as the bus comes to a stop, pulling my hand gel out of my pocket and squirting far too much onto my hand. I can’t remember the last time I got the bus.

I managed to convince Rachel I was popping into town to see if there were any volunteering jobs available. She wanted to drive me; I had to convince her I was fine to go out on my own without raising my voice. At least the journalist wasn’t outside the house this morning, I’m sure he would’ve followed me to the bus stop if he had been. I opted not to tell Rachel about it when she got home from the shops yesterday, it would only have made her angry; if he’d still been hanging around I would’ve mentioned something, but he’d gone. I keep looking over my shoulder now, thinking he’s following me. If pictures are published of me going to see Lucie, I’ll be done for, surely the police will intervene as I followed her home from the court.

Lucie suggested I meet her and her friend at her house this afternoon. The bus journey to Romford has taken half an hour.

Taking in a deep breath, I knock on Lucie’s front door. A shadow falls over the glass in the centre of the front door and the door’s wrenched open. Lucie stands there, beaming at me.

‘Ah, Stacey, you’re here, good, Ruth’s in the living room. D’you want a tea or coffee?’

‘No thanks,’ I reply, even though my mouth is dry.

‘OK, well, I’ll introduce you, come through.’

Running my hand through my hair, I follow Lucie through into her living room. It’s a little tidier than it was the other day; the children’s toys are tidied away. There’s a dark haired woman sitting on the sofa, where I sat the first time I came here.  

‘Hi Stacey,’ Ruth says brightly, standing up and holding her hand out. ‘I’m Ruth, Lucie’s friend.’

‘Hi,’ I say, taking her hand.

I glance back to Lucie.

‘So, why don’t we talk about what you hope to achieve from us working together?’ Ruth says, sitting back down, smiling at me. ‘I’m happy to help you look into what could’ve happened.’

I wonder what she’s thought about my son over the last few months. She must have an opinion on him, it seems everyone in the country has.

‘Well, um . . .’ My knees tremble as I sit in the chair opposite, Lucie sits next to me. ‘As I’m sure Lucie’s already told you, I’m certain my son’s innocent. The police they . . . they fixated on him right from the first few days of this enquiry and ignored other leads coming in.’

‘OK,’ Ruth says tentatively. ‘Are you certain they’ve ignored other lines of enquiry?’

I stare at her. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’

Ruth frowns at me. ‘I could understand if you’ve employed some sort of private investigator beforehand and they’ve handed stuff over to the police, but what do you believe the police have ignored?’       

‘Well, um, I . . .’ I can’t believe this; I’m stumped at what to say at the first hurdle. God Lucie’s going to be thinking I’m some sort of nutcase and that they were right to send my son down. ‘It’s just the way they went about their business. Susannah, she was, she was found dead and Joshua was arrested and released on bail the very next day. He told me at the time he had nothing to do with her murder, he cried on my shoulder; the next day he was hauled in for questioning again and completely changed his tune, I think . . . I think he was blackmailed into confessing and then he pleaded not guilty at the trial, it’s like he . . .’ I wipe my eyes.

Ruth straightens up in her seat. ‘You think he was blackmailed into confessing?’ She glances across at Lucie, frowning. She’s thinking this is a complete waste of time, that there’s going to be no way her editor’s going to want to let her look into this, let alone write about it. I shift in my seat. ‘Why would the police blackmail him?’

I chew on my lip, biting down until I taste the sharp taste of blood. ‘I don’t know, they could never find Susannah’s phone that went missing, remember. Perhaps they just thought he would be the easiest scapegoat, the public certainly thought it was him from day one. I just know he’s innocent, Lucie knows it too, and having Lucie affirm it, made me think it wasn’t just me.’

'OK. Talk to me about his relationship with the girl who was murdered, Susannah.’

‘I . . . I only met her a handful of times,’ I say, rubbing my nose. ‘She was a lovely girl. They seemed really happy together, I kept thinking to myself that she was going to be the one and he would end up proposing to her, even though they’d only been together for a short while, I just had this, instinct, I guess. You’ve probably heard this all before from the countless media reports, but the night she was murdered, he was meant to be picking her up from work. She worked as a teaching assistant at Oakhill Primary. Joshua was at mine that afternoon; he left to pick her up at half past three, they were planning to go and see a film and then grab something to eat. There was nothing about him at all that suggested this terrible thing was about to happen, he was acting normal; he was excited about seeing her. If I thought he was guilty, I would’ve been the first to hand him over to the police, believe me. I would’ve been disgusted.’

‘So, there’s CCTV of him arriving outside the primary school,’ Ruth says. ‘But Susannah, according to CCTV, had already left half an hour before he got there, which is slightly strange if she was planning to meet him outside the school.’

I swallow. ‘Yes, he got there about four; he parked a little further down the street. But he . . . she wasn’t responding to his texts when he got there, he tried calling her and there was no response from Susannah. I think, yes, he was angry at the time because he thought she’d deliberately stood him up, he waited about an hour before driving home. He went into the building to ask if Susannah was still inside, and he was told by the receptionist that she’d already left to go home, there’s CCTV confirming this. I think that’s what made him upset at the time, that she hadn’t bothered to let him know she’d already left.’

‘So, OK, this is the first part here that the public can’t quite get their heads around,’ Ruth says. ‘They’d been seeing each other for a good couple of months up until this point, and they’d got to know each other quite well. Surely he would’ve tried to check with anyone else who knew Susannah if he was concerned about where she was, or even gone round to her flat, rather than just drive off home, as he said he did.’

I shake my head. ‘He’s had problems with various relationships in the past. He’s ended up being ghosted by girls and I think . . . I think he just thought the same was happening here, I think he thought, he thought she was seeing someone else. If it had been an emergency and she’d had to get going, she would’ve told him, I’m sure.’

My legs begin to jitter up and down. I want to ask Lucie if she could open up a window, but I decide not to.

‘So, according to the timeline provided at the time, he ended up driving home at about five thirty, after getting no response from Susannah. He got back to his flat at six pm and ordered a pizza, which arrived at seven pm. He then says he went to bed at ten pm, after watching a film and didn’t wake up until nine thirty am the following morning, which was a Saturday. Susannah’s body was discovered in her flat, at one pm on the Saturday, after her mother failed to get hold of her, so she went round there with the spare key to see if she was OK.’

‘That’s right,’ I say. Why are we going over all of this, it’s been rehashed so many times in the media?

‘So, from seven pm onwards, there is no one who can account for Joshua’s movements to confirm that he did stay at home all evening,’ Ruth says. ‘The police hypothesis is that he went round to Susannah’s apartment after he had the pizza delivered, an argument took place, and he killed her. His DNA was found on her body, a car similar to his was spotted in the area close to Susannah’s apartment at around ten pm that night.’

I shake my head. ‘No. There’s a perfectly innocent explanation for his DNA being on her, he was in a relationship with her, and he’d only seen her the day before. He stayed at home all evening after he got back to his place. He told me that, I know when he’s lying, Ruth, and he wasn’t. Someone else killed that poor girl, and I need your help to find who that person was. I . . . I think she was already . . .’

‘OK,’ Ruth says, there’s a hint of a sigh to her voice, I curl my fist. Perhaps she’s already thinking this is a waste of time. ‘I can help you look into this, but I have to be frank with you, it’s going to be very difficult, but if there is something there that might prove the police are wrong, I’ll follow it, you have my word on that.’

I wipe my eyes. ‘Thank you.’

‘It might be worth trying to arrange to see your son,’ she suggests. ‘In the next couple of days, perhaps you can try and talk to him a bit more about how he was treated by the police, see what he says.’

I bite my lip. ‘I’ve no idea if he’ll want to see me, he didn’t even want me attending court.’

‘Try and see if you can make an appointment to see him,’ Ruth says. ‘I think that’s the next step here.’

I nod. ‘OK, I will do.’

I glance across at Lucie who smiles at me as if to reassure me everything’s going to be OK. God, I never thought I would have to go to prison for anything, let alone, to see my own son.

**********

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of murder, when she knows he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford, before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, who she now knows is called Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged her to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Stacey has now had a visit from Lucie who tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In the previous chapter, a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Stacey returns home from hospital, and her daughter, Rachel tells her she needs to try and move on with her life. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them.

For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes.

*************

24th August 2023

‘I’m going to arrange to see Joshua, well, I want to,’ I say, after swallowing a lump of mashed potato. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since it was first suggested to me earlier today. The thought of telling Rachel about my plans has been buzzing around inside my head; I know what she’s going to say to me, it’s pretty obvious. Of course, I want to see him, but I thought it would’ve taken me a bit more time to pluck up the courage. I didn’t think I would be seeing him so soon after the trial.

Rachel stares at me. She puts down her fork. ‘D’you think that’s a good idea?’ she asks, frowning at me.

We’re sitting in the kitchen. It’s six pm. I got home after seeing Lucie and Ruth at three this afternoon; I’d decided to stay out a little bit longer, knowing I’d have to convince Rachel I’d been out actively searching for some work. At least she didn’t question me too much about what I’d been up to; she’d just asked how my day had been.

‘I just want to see him to . . . look you don’t have to come with me, but I’d just like to talk to him, I want to try and keep some sort of relationship going with my son, even if he is in prison.’ I shift in my seat.

Rachel seems to take forever to reply. If she seriously thinks Joshua did murder Susannah, part of her must hate him. I would hate him if I thought the same. I shift in my seat. ‘OK, when were you thinking?’ she asks.

‘I . . . I’m not sure, I’ve no idea how to even go about arranging a visit, I know there are certain days when family members and friends can visit inmates, but, perhaps next week if it can be arranged, I’m not sure if there’s a set day for visitors, it’s something I’ve never had to think about before.’ I glance towards the kitchen door. I can imagine what must be going through Rachel’s mind now, she’ll be thinking it’s a bad idea, she’s already warned me off trying to investigate the case further, even though my son’s innocent.

‘OK, you don’t need to worry about doing all the arranging; I’ll do all of that for you. But are you sure this is a good idea, it might be too upsetting for you?’ she asks.

‘I need to face it at some point, Rachel, if anything it might help me to come to terms with what’s happened,’ I say. I place my knife and fork on the plate, perhaps the last part of my sentence will help make Rachel agree to it. ‘Sorry, I’m not really hungry.’

Rachel dabs her mouth with her napkin. ‘Don’t worry; I think I overdid the sausages a bit anyway. Well, I can try and get all of this organised for tomorrow, if this is what you really want to do, or like you say, if there’s a certain day for visitors, then it might have to be next week sometimes.’

‘Yes, please,’ I say, getting down from my seat. ‘Thank you, Rachel.’

I take my plate to the sink. The prospect of seeing my son in prison for the first time fills me with dread. He shouldn’t be there. He should be out, living his life.

**********

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of murder, when she knows he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford, before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, who she now knows is called Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged her to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Stacey has now had a visit from Lucie who tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In the previous chapter, a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Stacey returns home from hospital, and her daughter, Rachel tells her she needs to try and move on with her life. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison.

Chapter 14
The Fix - Chapter Fourteen

By Jacob1395

For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes.

*************

28th August 2023

I glance out of the window at the imposing grey building to my left and take in a deep breath. The prison looks so unfriendly, if you were to catch a glimpse of it from the main road it would prompt you to pick up your speed and keep driving; it wouldn’t look out of place on the front cover of a Stephen King novel. I twist the gold ring on my finger, trying not to think of what sort of state my son’s going to be in. Rachel parks the car up. We’ve been silent for most of the journey; it’s taken us just little over an hour to get here, a journey, I’d hoped over the last few months, I’d never have to make. My neck’s beginning to ache. This has to go well.

‘You ready?’ Rachel asks, half-smiling at me. She’s nervous.

I nod and we climb out of the car into the stuffy afternoon air. It’s like airport security when we get inside. The air is stifling, if only I had something to fan myself. Even some of the guards have sweat patches under their arms; it must be unbearable for them working here. We hand several items over to be scanned, and walk through the bleepers, as I’ve always called them. Normally it’s always me who gets them flashing at airports when I pass through; Rachel blames it on all the jewellery I wear, there’s always something I forget to take off. My heart begins to pound. I’m actually going to be seeing Joshua. It’s been a couple of weeks now since the trial. But it’s been even longer since I’ve had a direct conversation with him. When I spoke to him before the trial, his lawyer was always present.

There’s a buzzing noise which makes me jump. Rachel and I both stride through into the visitors area. I’m trying to think of what to say to Joshua, something that won’t make Rachel think I’m still in contact with Lucie. I stare at the grey floor. Come on, you can do this, he’s your son. We sit at a table in a wide plain looking room, with several other sets of tables and chairs. Guards with stern faces patrol the outer perimeter of the room; Rachel gives me a reassuring smile. There’s another buzzing sound and a line of people begin to file through, dressed in the same orange gear. Each person makes their way over to someone sitting at the table. Some have got a couple of visitors, others have just got one. I can imagine there are some inmates who don’t get any visitors at all, particularly the ones who are guilty of whatever it was they did. Then I spot Joshua. My heart seems to stop. He’s standing towards the back of the queue, keeping his head down, hands clasped together in front of him. This is it; this is the moment I’ve been waiting for all week. I try my best to smile as he makes his way over to us; he sits in the chair opposite, my stomach drops.

‘What’s happened to your eye?’ I ask.

There’s a deep purple bruise under his left eye, I want to reach out and examine it properly, but I know if I do, I’ll be shouted at by the prison officers patrolling the room.

‘Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s nothing,’ he says, his voice subdued.

‘It doesn’t look like nothing,’ I say. ‘Who did this to you? Have you been checked out by a doctor?’

‘No one did this to me, Mum,’ he says through gritted teeth. I flinch. ‘I slipped and fell, that’s all.’

God this hasn’t got off to a good start. It’s not worth pressing him on it, he’ll only rebuff me. I can tell he’s lying to me, but there’s no way he’s going to tell me anything more. One of the other inmates has done this to him, he was targeted. My body trembles. ‘How’ve . . . um . . . how’ve you been?’ I say, knowing it’s a stupid question.

He half-laughs. ‘Oh yeah, fine, completely fine.’

‘Joshua, I . . .’

‘I told you not to go to the trial, Mum,’ he says, his voice coming out soft, but I can hear the anger simmering behind it.

‘I know you did, but I, I had to see it for myself. I would’ve driven myself mad otherwise if I hadn’t been there,’ I say, my words tumbling out of my mouth.

He shakes his head. ‘Well, there’s not much we can do about it now, is there? How’s things, Rach?'

‘Oh, um, we’re fine, just about managing, you know.’ My daughter tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

Joshua nods. ‘Of course, of course.’

It’s like he doesn’t want to look me in the eye. I’m his mother for crying out loud. ‘Joshua, I’m so sorry, this isn’t right, you shouldn’t be here.’

‘Why do you say that?’ he says, ice in his voice.

‘Because you’re innocent,’ I hiss.

Beside me Rachel stiffens. I want to ask her what her problem is, but I hold back. If I want to, I can have it out with her in the car, or when we’re back home, not here, not with everyone else listening in. Perhaps there are even journalists disguised as visitors. One of them might've managed to find out we would be visiting today. 

‘Well, the court thought otherwise,’ he says, this time fixing his gaze on me.

‘They were wrong. Look, I . . . we can continue to fight for you outside, but I need you tell me what the police said to you. Did they . . . did they offer you some kind of deal? You told them you did it when they first arrested you, then you retracted that statement. Why?' 

I don’t care that Rachel might be cursing me inside her head. I fix my gaze on Joshua, and focus only on him. Right now, he’s the one who needs my help.

He shrugs. ‘The court found me guilty, Mum, I’m sorry, but they were right to do so.’

My heart begins to thump. I loosen my collar around my neck. ‘Joshua, you don’t know what you’re saying.’

He glares at me. ‘Yes, I do, Mum. Now is this all you came here to talk to me about, or are we going to talk about something else?’

I stiffen and sink back into my seat. I want so badly to grasp hold of his hands and look deep into his eyes, the same blue eyes I used to stare into when I used to sing him a lullaby to get him to go to sleep when he was a baby. Tears prick the corners of my eyes; I resist the urge to cry. He doesn't want my help. It's like he's resigned himself to this fate. 

**********

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit.

Chapter 15
The Fix - Chapter Fifteen

By Jacob1395

For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes.

*************

28th August 2023

‘Are you OK?’ Rachel asks, once we’re outside the prison.

I breathe out a sigh. I haven’t smoked in years, not since I was in my twenties, but right now, God, I could use a cigarette. I’m surprised actually I've managed to hold off smoking again in the months since Joshua was arrested.

‘I’m fine, come on, let’s just get going.’

I follow Rachel back to the car. We spent another half an hour with Joshua. He kept avoiding looking at me directly in the eye, instead keeping his focus on Rachel. It was like he wanted to tell me something, but couldn’t. Despite him saying the court made the right decision, it’s made me more determined to get to the bottom of what really happened. God, is he trying to protect someone? A shudder runs through me. I glance across at Rachel, but shake the thought of my head. 

The drive back is long and awkward. I want to ask Rachel about her reactions to my questions in the car, but somehow I manage to stop myself from doing so. What’s the point? It'll only cause an argument. As we pull into our road, I scan the area for any sign of journalists snooping around. There’s no one else here. Perhaps the story is beginning to die down, at last. But if I find the evidence that Joshua is innocent, then that’ll blow the case wide open again. There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to stop the media focus on me then.

‘I hate the thought of leaving him in there,’ I say, getting out of the car, holding my hand to my forehead. ‘Of course he didn’t fall over in the shower, someone attacked him, Rachel.’

Rachel wipes her eyes. It’s the first sign of emotion I’ve seen from her in days. ‘I know, I . . . I feared that would happen, you hear stories of people being attacked in prison all the time, but no one in the general public cares because they think that’s what they rightly deserve for the crimes they’ve committed.’

‘Well, whoever’s done this to him needs to be punished,’ I say, spittle flying out of my mouth.

‘Oh come on, Mum,’ Rachel says, and I hear the sigh in the voice. ‘Do you think the staff are seriously going to be interested in investigating that? They’ll have probably been cheering, whoever did it, on from the side lines. Plus if Joshua tells the police who did this to him, then that’ll make him more of a target.’

‘I need a lie down,’ I say. I march towards the house. 

‘Do you want me to bring you a cup of tea?’ Rachel asks.

‘No, don’t worry, I’m fine,’ I say.

I shove the key into the lock and storm inside, leaving the door open for Rachel. I hurry up the stairs to my bedroom, unable to shake the image of Joshua’s black eye out of my head. I slam my bedroom door behind me, and dive straight towards my ensuite, slamming the door behind me, before sitting on the toilet. I take in a deep breath. The sound of the television playing reaches me from downstairs. I need to call Lucie. I pull out my mobile, and dial her number, breathing steadily as I wait for the call to connect.

‘Hi Stacey,’ she says, as she answers. ‘How did it go?’

I can’t stop tears from falling from my eyes. ‘God, it was awful, you should see the state of him, he’s already been attacked . . .  and . . .’ I snatch off a piece of toilet roll and wipe my eyes. ‘I’m frightened he’s become a target for someone.’

‘OK, but, did you manage to speak to him at all about the police investigation?’ Lucie asks.

I sort of don’t want to tell her what he said to me. ‘I . . . he didn’t want to talk about it, but I think . . . I think he was afraid to talk to me. I’m not sure, I’m certain there was something he wanted to tell me but he couldn’t. Has, has Ruth been able to start looking into the case yet?’

‘She’s told me she’s started preparing. I think she’s planning to try and speak to some of the people who Susannah worked with this week, but, you have to remember, Stacey, we’re not the police. We can’t force people to talk to us; some people might want money from us first.’

Shit, why didn’t I think of that? I thump the side of the toilet. ‘OK, well I suppose we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it,’ I say. ‘I think . . . I think perhaps we should leave Susannah’s family out of this for now, unless something comes up that means we’ll have to speak to them. I’m pretty sure I can imagine what their reaction to us turning up on the doorstep would be.’

‘Yes, I agree, if we start asking them for more information they might get funny and speak to the police, or worse, the press about what we’re doing.’

‘But there’s nothing illegal about what we’re doing, is there?’ I say.

‘No, of course not. Hang tight, Stacey. We’ll manage to work our way through this, somehow.’

‘Thank you.’

I end the call.

**********

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him.

Chapter 16
The Fix - Chapter Sixteen

By Jacob1395

For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes.

*************

31st July 2022

‘How long have you and your ex been separated, Mrs Hall, if you don’t mind me asking?’

Susannah’s sitting in the armchair opposite me, holding onto her glass of wine, wearing a light blue summer dress. I’d liked it the moment I saw it and asked her where she’d got it from, making a note to take a trip to Monsoon to check it out later. I shift in my seat. Where the hell has this question come from? Joshua’s driven into town to pick us up fish and chips. I was surprised when he talked about brining Susannah over tonight. He asked me last week, and I’d said yes in a heartbeat, I haven’t had a chance to have a proper conversation with her yet.

‘Oh, um, we split up a decade ago,’ I say, rubbing the back of my neck. ‘And please don’t call me Mrs Hall, it’s Stacey, calling me Mrs Hall makes me seem ancient.’

Susannah smiles. ‘But you’ve never been with anyone else since?’ she asks.

‘No, well, I was sort of in a relationship with some guy a couple of years ago, but it didn’t work out unfortunately, but I’m happy being on my own, I can do what I want, when I want,’ I reply.

Susannah inspects her nails. ‘Joshua took me round to meet his dad the other day,’ she says.

‘Oh, did he?’ This is the first time I’m hearing about this.

‘Lives in a really fancy place, doesn’t he?’ she says.

‘Yes he does, but it’s not his; it’s all in his new girlfriend’s name, her parents are the ones with millions in the bank, you know she’s a good ten years younger than him?’

Susannah laughs. ‘Yeah, I noticed that, she’s not that much older than me. Do you, sorry, if you don’t mind me asking, do you know how he met her?’

‘It was in Ibiza of all places,’ I reply, rolling my eyes. I still can’t help but imagine the scene in my mind, Daniel at the bar, this woman appearing beside him rubbing his shoulders, enticing him to dance. ‘This was before we split up. He was out there with a bunch of his friends from his school days and I think, well, it wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up with her in bed that weekend. His friends insist with me that he didn’t sleep with her until we’d split up, but men cover for each other, don’t they? Sorry, I’m rambling on a bit.’

‘Must’ve been hard for you,’ she says, taking a sip of her wine.

‘Well, I think I’d grown to realise for some time before that, that we weren’t compatible any more. But I’d go through it all again to have Joshua and Rachel. They’re my world.’

I breathe a sigh of relief as I hear the front door open, the smell of fish and chips wafts into the room. The smell always puts me in mind of my youth when my parents would insist on having fish and chips every single Friday without fail.

‘Let’s eat outside, shall we?’ Joshua says, clutching onto the paper bag. He beams at Susannah. ‘It’ll be a shame not to make use of the garden on such a glorious evening. I hope Mum’s been keeping you entertained.’

‘Oh yeah, we’ve been having a right old natter, haven’t we?’ Susannah says.

‘We have,’ I agree.

I get up from my chair and follow Susannah and Joshua out of the room, glad the conversation about my ex is over.

**********

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him.

Chapter 17
The Fix - Chapter Seventeen

By Jacob1395

For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*************

 

1st September 2023

 

I tap my foot against the sticky floor of the café. Cinnamon wafts into my nose. Sitting across from me a woman’s talking far too loudly about the latest episode of EastEnders she’s watched. I grit my teeth. At least it isn’t too busy. It’s close to where Lucie lives; we’re just waiting for Ruth. I would’ve preferred to have met at Lucie’s, but she said her husband was at home, and there was no way we could meet at mine, not with Rachel there. She opted to work from home today, today of all days.

 

‘She should’ve been here by now,’ Lucie says, checking the time on her phone. ‘Her coffee is going to go cold at this rate. Ah, here she is.’

 

I look over my shoulder. Ruth bustles into the shop, hurrying over to us, removing her jacket. She flings it on the back of her chair.

 

‘Sorry, sorry, got held up by traffic lights, they’re a bloody murder, honestly.’ She takes a sip of her coffee as she sits down. ‘So, I managed to speak to a couple of people who worked with Susannah. OK, so there were a few who wouldn’t talk to me, they said what I was doing was disgusting and that the case should now be left alone, but there were a couple of people, who I thought were keen to get their names in the paper, who did.’

 

‘Did they know Susannah personally?’ I ask, sitting forward in my seat, glancing over at the woman I heard chatting about EastEnders, to make sure she isn’t listening in.

 

Ruth nods. ‘Yeah, a little bit; Susannah had only been working at the school for eight months or so, hadn’t she? I got the sense the staff there sort of knew her mainly from the staff room; I didn’t get the impression they hung out with her outside of work. I asked what kind of mood Susannah was in on that day, the day she was murdered.’ She clasps her hands around her cup of coffee. ‘One woman who I spoke to, Claire, she said her name was, she was very eager to chat to me, God she could talk for England; she seemed to think Susannah was in a very good mood the day she last saw her, so much so, that Susannah was humming to herself as she was getting ready to go home.’

 

I stare at Ruth, the corner of my mouth twitches. I try to think back. Was there anything reported about this in the press at the time Joshua was arrested? Nothing springs to mind. ‘Well, she was going to meet my son, they were going out,’ I say. ‘That’s probably why she was excited.’

 

‘Yes, I know,’ Ruth says. I'm surprised at the slight hint of a sigh to her voice. ‘But Claire said Susannah was in more of a good mood than usual; she said it was like she’d just had some good news delivered, or something like that. That’s what she thought at the time.’

 

‘OK,’ I say. My heart thumps as my brain tries to process this information. I’m not quite sure what to make of it. ‘Did Claire tell the police this at the time?’

 

‘She says she did, but she doesn’t think the police were particularly interested in what she had to say. There wasn’t much more she could tell them, she said she asked Susannah why she was in such a good mood, but Susannah didn’t elaborate any further,’ Ruth replies.

 

‘But do you think there’s anyone else who Susannah could’ve discussed this with?’ I ask, trying to keep my voice calm. I can’t allow myself to get too excited about this; this could all come down to nothing. ‘If she was in a good mood about something, then perhaps she would’ve spoken to one of her friends, or a family member about it?’

 

Ruth shrugs. ‘It’s possible. I also asked if they knew what local bars and restaurants Susannah frequented. Lucie, you might be able to tell us how much the police looked into this part of Susannah's life, as you had access to the police reports during the trial.’

 

Lucie coughs. ‘Well, I know, from what I saw, they mainly concentrated on the school. They spoke to the last people who saw Susannah alive a lot, which is what you would expect in any major investigation.’

 

I glance back to Ruth. ‘We need to find out what it was Susannah was on about that day. She left work far too early. She must’ve been going to meet someone else and then planned to go back to the school to meet Joshua. That’s why her phone must be missing. The person who was in contact with her didn’t want the police tracing anything back to them. If that person was my son, then why wouldn’t he have got rid of his phone as well?’

 

‘Unless, of course, your son was using a burner phone,’ Ruth says. I look up at her sharply. ‘Sorry, it’s just something I have to make you aware of, I’m sure it’s what the police would’ve considered.’ A wave of nausea pulses through me at the thought. ‘But, at the moment, I’m going to suggest that this is the area we focus on, I know it’s not much to go on right now, but it’s a start.’

 

I pick up my drink and take a sip. I think back to the conversations I had with Susannah before she died. I want to be able to go back to that time and find out what was going on in her life. Surely she must've spoken to Joshua about this. 

 

How much did the police investigate?     

 

‘We’ve got to assume that the police didn’t pursue this then,’ Lucie says, I flick my gaze towards her then back to Ruth.

 

‘Yes, that is a possibility. I’ll keep you both updated on my next steps. If there’s anything you can think of, or remember about Susannah, Stacey, I want you to let me know.’

 

I nod. ‘Of course.’ There’s no way DI Dominic Hitchens would’ve said that to me. ‘I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me.’

 

‘You can thank me when we get a good result,’ Ruth says, and I feel certain, that she too thinks there’s more here to be uncovered.

 

***************

 

Characters:

 

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

 

Joshua (Stacey's son)

 

Susannah (murder victim) 

 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

 

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

 

Ruth (journalist) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him. A flashback scene to a year ago has shown Susannah questioning Stacey about her relationship with her ex-husband.

Chapter 18
The Fix - Chapter Eighteen

By Jacob1395

For a summary of what's happened in previous posts, please see author notes.

*****************

1st September 2022

‘You never told me you were taking Susannah round to your dad’s,’ I say, as Joshua steps back into the hallway. I think back to the conversation Susannah and I had earlier, when Joshua was out getting fish and chips. ‘Susannah told me about it earlier.’

He’s just seen her off in an Uber, I’d said she could stay here tonight, as Joshua was, but she wanted to get back to her place. We’d spent a good two to three hours sitting out in the garden. I think we managed to polish off two bottles of wine. It’s not often I have a drink; I can feel it swooshing around inside me.  

He frowns at me. ‘It’s no problem, is it?’

‘No of course not, it’s just; she was asking me about my relationship with your dad earlier, it just bugged me a little bit. Things seem to be getting really serious between the two of you.'

I make my way into the kitchen. Even though we ate outside, the kitchen still stinks of fish and vinegar. It’ll still be stinking in the morning, it’s why I only ever tend to have fish and chips when I’m out at a restaurant now, I can’t stand how the smell lingers around for ages. I pick up the last couple of remaining chips, scrunch the wrapping paper up left on the kitchen worktop and stuff it into the bin.

‘Yeah they are; I really like her. What did she ask you?’ he asks.

I shrug. ‘Just general stuff, you know, like how we met, perhaps she was wondering how we ever thought we’d be a good match in the first place. If you look at it, we’re so unalike it’s ridiculous.’

‘Well, you stuck it out with him for a good ten years so there must’ve been some spark there.’ He grins. ‘She seemed to get on OK with Chloe.’

My skin bristles, like it always does at the mention of my husband’s partner. I should be over it by now, but I can’t help it. 

‘Oh, did she?’ I ask.

‘Well, if you think about it, there’s not much of an age gap between them, which is pretty gross when you come to think of it. It’s taken me a long time to come to accept her as my new potential, step-mum.’ He rolls his eyes at the first part of his sentence. ‘I think Rachel still hates her. Honestly, you should still see the way Chloe fawns over dad; he’s not exactly some Greek God, is he? I really can’t see what it is she sees in him, it’s not like he’s the one with the money.’

I smile. ‘Well, Rachel was a real daddy’s girl, wasn’t she, so I can understand her animosity towards Chloe. But then I remember what your dad was like when I first met him. He used to make you feel as though you were the only person he cared about. It was the way he looked at you, with his eyes, the way he spoke to you, that’s what made me fall for him. Girls still go crazy for him, don’t they? When we were young, after we’d first got together, I couldn’t believe I was the one who managed to snare him. I never thought in a million years I was his type.’

Joshua pulls a face. ‘Right, well, on that note, think I’m gonna go up. You going to stay down here for a bit?’

‘Might just catch the last bit of the news, I’ll be up in a sec,’ I reply.

Joshua gives me a kiss on the cheek then heads back out into the hallway. I grab the wine glass I left on the side and throw it in the sink. I pad out of the kitchen and back into the front living room.

As I sit down at the chair in front of the television and flick it on, I think back to the first time I met Daniel. We’d met at Ski resort in Switzerland; I was away with a group of friends, but the rest of the holiday, apart from the moments I was with him, are a blur. On our last day he’d given me his phone number and made me promise to call him the moment we were back in the UK. I shake the thought out of my head and focus on the last part of the news report in front of me.

******************

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him. A flashback scene to a year ago has shown Susannah questioning Stacey about her relationship with her ex-husband. Ruth has now given Stacey an update and tells her she's discovered Susannah appeared to be in a good mood about something the day she died.

Chapter 19
The Fix - Chapter Nineteen

By Jacob1395

For a summary of what's happened, please see author notes.

***************

2nd September 2023

I can’t stop thinking about what Ruth said to me yesterday at the café. I clench my fists, what the hell was going on with Susannah? I wipe my right eye and throw the remote onto the coffee table, switching off the television, there’s only so much of daytime television I can stand. At least Rachel’s gone into work today, so I'm not going to have her keeping an eye on me. 

I head into the hallway, intent on picking up my car keys from the console table, when a knock at the front door makes me jump. I stare at the door for what seems like a long moment. God, what if it’s another journalist? The letter box flaps open.

‘Stacey, are you there?’

I freeze. It’s Daniel. What the hell is he doing here? I edge over to the door and tentatively open it. Blinding sunlight makes me squint. Daniel’s standing in the doorway, he’s on his own.

I fold my arms across my chest. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ I ask.

He frowns at me, he looks like shit, there are heavy bags under his eyes and his hairs all ruffled. ‘I just thought I’d pop in and see how you’re doing, I realised I haven’t spoken to you since I saw you at Queens Hospital the other day; if you’re busy I can come back another time.’

A silence stretches out between us. I want to tell him to get lost, but instead I stand aside to let him through. I’m actually interested to hear what he wants to say to me.

‘Tea or coffee?’ I ask padding into the kitchen.

‘I won’t say no to a cuppa,’ he says, closing the door behind me as he follows me. I have to stop myself from shaking my head. Always the same, he didn’t quite get the hint in my voice I want his visit to be brief.

I make my way over to the kettle and flick it on. ‘This is unexpected, you popping in to see if I’m OK,’ I say.

He sits at the table. God, he looks uncomfortable. Has Rachel asked him to drop in? I grab two mugs off of the draining board.

‘Well, I was just in the area and thought I’d stop off on the way back to mine. So how’ve you been doing? Rachel mentioned to me you’ve been looking around for volunteering work, that’s good,’ he says, sitting down at the table.

I stiffen. So, Rachel has spoken to him. I wish she wouldn’t keep me in the dark, I would’ve at least liked to have had a warning that Daniel was going to pop round. ‘Yeah, I popped into Chelmsford the other day, to be honest though I’m really not sure about it. I’ve grown used to retired life recently.’ I let out a slight laugh.

‘You could always do some part time work,’ he suggests, shrugging. ‘See what they’ve got available locally; maybe you could just do something for a couple of days a week.’

I sigh. ‘I wish everyone would stop prying into my life and making me do things I don’t want to do. I’m fine, I will be fine, it’s just going to take some time to adjust to things.’

He nods. The kettle finishes roaring and I pour boiling water into two cups. Daniel takes a long gulp when I pass him his drink. He must be keen to get going.

He bangs the cup back on the table. ‘I just don’t like the thought of you sitting around at home all day thinking about everything that’s happened. I know things didn’t work out between us, but I do still care about you, Stacey. Rachel . . . Rachel also tells me you went to see Joshua.’

I sit in the chair opposite him. I can’t remember the last time we had a proper chat like this. When I used to drop the kids off at his place, I’d wait in the car, wave from the car seat and drive off; I never used to want to hang around for a chat. I wish things could’ve been more pleasant between us at the time, but I was so angry with him for going off with someone younger than me. It made me feel like something he’d grown too tired and he wanted to be shot of. ‘Yes, I just wanted to see him. You know someone’s already beaten him up in prison. He denies someone attacked him, but it’s clear he’s lying about it.’

‘What happened?’ Daniel asks a hint of concern in his voice.

‘He says he slipped in the shower, but his eye was all battered and bruised. It was awful. I hate the thought of people targeting him in there.’

Daniel sighs and takes a sip of his tea. ‘I hate to say it, but it’s something we’ve got to expect I suppose, for the crime he committed it . . . it puts you amongst the lowest of the low in prison.’

I have to fight back the urge to tell Daniel he’s wrong, that Joshua didn’t kill Susannah. If I do say something, it’ll only create tension. ‘I just wish there was something we could do,’ I say, rubbing my forehead.

‘Things will get . . . will get easier, I’m sure they will. I know what I said to you at the hospital was harsh, but believe me; I’ve been suffering the same as you since this whole business began. How could our son have done something like that? We gave him everything in life to give him the best possible start, and he threw it all away.’

I take a long gulp of my tea. ‘How are things at yours?’ I ask, in a way to move the subject along.

‘Oh, yeah, um, fine, Chloe’s just started helping her sister out with this new business venture she’s got going, she can work from home so it means she can still look after Abigail. You’re not still in contact with this Lucie, are you?’

I shake my head. ‘No, of course not, I haven’t seen her since the hospital.’ I lie.

He takes another sip of his drink, although he gives me a look that suggests to me that he doesn’t believe what I’m saying. ‘OK, that’s good.’

He smiles at me and I do my best to smile back. I begin to tap my foot under the table. ‘Did you and Susannah have any conversations at all, you know, shortly before she was murdered?’ I ask.

I’d thought twice before asking the question, but it slipped into my head a few moments ago.

He stares at me. ‘Um, we may have done, I can’t really remember, it’s been over a year now since she was murdered. Why do you ask?’

I shrug. ‘No real reason, I’ve just been thinking about something, that’s all.’ I say.

An awkward silence passes between us, before Daniel finishes off his tea. ‘Thanks for the tea. Listen, if you want any help in searching for a job you can always give me a call, but I’m sure Rachel will be able to help you.’

‘Thank you, but I’ll be fine,’ I say. ‘Thanks for popping round.’

I follow him out into the hallway, his answer to my question playing on loop inside my head.

******************

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

DI Dominic Hitchens (lead detective) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him. A flashback scene to a year ago has shown Susannah questioning Stacey about her relationship with her ex-husband. Ruth has now given Stacey an update and tells her she's discovered Susannah appeared to be in a good mood about something the day she died.

Chapter 20
The Fix - Chapter Twenty

By Jacob1395

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of language.

For a summary of what's happened, please see author notes.

***************

3rd September 2023

Rachel’s left me at home again today. At least it seems she’s beginning to trust me. If she still thought I was speaking to Lucie, there’s no way she would be leaving me on my own. I didn’t question her about what she spoke to Daniel about. I pull out my phone. Lucie hasn’t been in touch since we met Ruth the other day. Part of me wishes I could go with Ruth to speak to people. She might not ask the questions I’ll be able to think of, that’ll help drive the investigation forward. The police certainly wouldn’t have thought to ask them.

I shake my head. Sod it; I can’t be done with this waiting. It’s driving me mad. I dive into the hallway, pick up my car keys from the console table, and head outside, the bright sunlight temporarily blinding me. The school where Susannah worked is about a fifteen minute drive from here. At the time of her murder, it was the centre of media activity, as it was the last place where she was seen alive. Up until now, there’s been nothing that’s prompted me to want to go and visit it, but after what Ruth said to me the other day; I need to find out more. Perhaps there might be someone there who I can talk to.

My heart beats against my chest as I near the school. I park in a similar position to where Joshua must’ve parked on the day he went to meet her. The autumn term doesn’t actually start until next week, so at least there’ll be no kids around. I get out of the car. The street seems too quiet. On the other side of the road, a middle aged woman walks a golden retriever; her focus is on her phone, at least she hasn’t noticed me.

I try to picture this scene a year ago, Joshua sitting here, getting more and more frustrated in the car as he waited for Susannah. What would I have done if I’d been in his position? I scan the area and begin to walk up to the school, my heart rate increasing. I’m walking the exact route Joshua took a year ago before his life fell apart. What was going through his mind?

I stop at the gates and peer through. The grounds inside the school are empty, of course they would be. I clasp my hand around the metal gates. Something was going on with Susannah in the days before her murder, something Joshua wasn’t aware of. I try to picture her, leaving the building in a hurry. Where was she going? Who did she meet?  

‘Can I help you?’

I blink rapidly. A dark haired woman wearing a purple dress has stepped out of the main door of the school. She’s staring right at me, there’s a phone in her hand; her eyes are wide. Shit, she must’ve seen me on CCTV. I stumble back.

‘I . . . I,’ I say. I can’t get the words to form on my tongue.

‘You do realise this is private property,’ she says, taking a step further.

I compose myself. ‘I’m sorry, I’m Joshua Hall’s mother; I know Susannah worked here a year ago before she was killed. Please I’d just like to speak to you about her.’

The woman glares at me. ‘You’re the one who sent the journalist round.’ This must be the person who Ruth said didn’t want to speak to her.

Ruth’s face fills my mind. ‘My son is innocent. Something was going on with Susannah before she was killed, whatever it was; it might reveal who killed her. Please, you have to help me.’

‘If you don’t leave now, I’m going to call the police,’ she says. She’s halfway across the car park now.

‘I’m sorry, I.’ Tears begin to fill my eyes. She’s making a call on her phone now I can see. ‘Don’t worry, I’m leaving.’

I sprint back to my car. Sweat patches are forming on my arms. Before I slip into my seat, I glance back towards the school. She hasn’t come out onto the street. The gates haven’t opened, she’s still standing in the car park; her phone is clamped to her ear. No, she can’t be calling them.

I twist my key into the car engine, swing my car out of its parking space and onto the road.

****************

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

DI Dominic Hitchens (lead detective) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him. A flashback scene to a year ago has shown Susannah questioning Stacey about her relationship with her ex-husband. Ruth has now given Stacey an update and tells her she's discovered Susannah appeared to be in a good mood about something the day she died. As the investigation proceeds, Stacey receives a visit from her ex-husband and they talk about what happened, and something that Daniel said arouses Susannah's suspicions.

Chapter 21
The Fix - Chapter Twenty-One

By Jacob1395

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of language.

4th September 2023

I barely slept last night. I kept thinking about the woman shouting at me from the school. Her face fills my vision now, the way how her forehead creased, the anger in her eyes. What must she have been thinking when she saw me? I curse myself for being so stupid. I need to just leave things to Ruth. She knows what she’s doing. I slip out of bed and gulp the rest of my water in one. I gasp as I finish and plonk the glass back on the bedside cabinet. Rachel’s in the kitchen, she’s sorting out breakfast. The clink of cutlery and plates being placed on the table reaches my ears as I head out into the hallway. The smell of toast cooking fills my nose. Before I have the chance to make my way downstairs, the chime of the doorbell makes me jump. I clutch the bannister and steady myself.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll get it,’ Rachel shouts.

I’m frozen at the top of the stairs. I watch her dart over to the front door, and wrench it open. My mouth drops open. What the hell? It’s DI Dominic Hitchens. What the hell is he doing here?

‘Hi, it’s Rachel, isn’t it?’ he says, the familiar tone of his voice makes my skin crawl. He’s staring at Rachel with a sympathetic look in his eyes. In fact that’s the first sign of sympathy he’s given us since this whole mess began. ‘Is your mother home? I was wondering if I could have a quick word with her.’

Rachel doesn’t answer. Instead she turns and glances up towards me, confusion swept across her face.  

‘Um, yes,’ I say, making my way carefully down the stairs, I keep thinking I’m going to pass out. Shit, shit, shit. Why is he here? The woman at the school must’ve called police. But why’s he come, surely he would have more important things to do? I swallow. ‘What’s this about?’

‘Can I come in?’ he asks smiling.

An awkward silence passes out between us as I reach the bottom of the stairs. Reluctantly I let him through. I can feel Rachel’s eyes burning into the back of my skull as he follows us through into the kitchen. Two pieces of toast pop up in the toaster, but Rachel ignores them.

‘What’s this about?’ I say, there’s no way I’m offering him a drink.

‘I wanted to drop by because I was slightly concerned about you,’ he says, taking a seat at the kitchen table, like he owns the place. He didn’t even bloody ask if he could sit down. I remain standing, there’s no way I’m sitting opposite him.

Rachel flicks her gaze over to me and I laugh; for a brief moment I don’t care about what Rachel’s thinking. At this point in time, this is between me and him. ‘Concerned, you’ve never been concerned about us,’ I say. Heat rises in my cheeks. God he makes me sick, the way he’s looking at me like that.

He sighs. ‘I’m concerned because you showed up at the school where Susannah worked yesterday. The headmistress was on duty and she telephoned us. I wanted to be the one to come and talk to you, because I think we know each other well enough, and I just wanted to give you a chance to explain what you were doing there. She wanted us to arrest you for trespassing.’

I can only imagine what must be going on inside Rachel’s head now. I’m going to be in for it when he’s gone.

‘Trespassing, I didn’t even bloody go behind the gate. I was . . . I went for walk and ended up passing it by accident. I . . . I guess I got curious because it was the last place where Susannah was seen alive, and I hadn’t visited it before. I didn’t mean any harm.’

He nods. There’s no way Rachel will have believed what I said, she’ll be thinking there’s another reason why I went there, I can see it in her face; how she’s crossed her arms across her chest. Please don’t say anything, Rachel, not now. I keep my focus fixed on Dominic.

‘It’s just, when she confronted you, you left pretty sharpish,’ he continues.

‘Because I didn’t expect anyone to be there,’ I say. ‘I wasn’t going to break in or anything.’

‘OK, I understand what you’re saying. It’s just she’s also told us that a journalist has been asking her staff questions. Do you know anything about this?’

I resist the urge to glance across at Rachel. I have to keep a straight face. ‘No, I’m sorry.’

‘Right,’ Dominic says, like he’s no way convinced by my answer. Of course he won’t be. He would’ve already formed his opinions before arriving here. He glances at Rachel, who looks at the floor, before fixing his blue eyes on me. I used to always find blue eyes so attractive; now, the way how he’s staring at me, it’s like he’s trying to suck my very soul out of my body. I take in a shallow breath. ‘If that’s all this matter is, then I can’t see there being too much of a problem here. I would warn you, Stacey not to go loitering near the school again, because if we receive any further reports I won’t be coming round for a friendly chit chat next time. Is this something you can do for me?’

I hate the way he’s talking to me, like I’m some naughty child being told off. ‘Of course, I totally understand.’ I smile at him, although it hurts my cheeks to do so.

He gets up from his chair. ‘Well, I’ll leave you alone. Enjoy the rest of your day.’

I don’t follow him to the door to show him out. I can hear him talking to Rachel out in the hallway, but I can’t quite work out what they’re saying.

‘What was all that about, Mum?’ Rachel asks once she’s back in the kitchen.

‘Nothing, sweetheart. I already told DI Hitchens the truth.’

She’s glaring at me. ‘Did you really go into town the other day to look for volunteering jobs? Mum, answer me.’

‘Yes, I swear to you I did,’ I say, shaking my head. ‘Now if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if people stopped treating me like a child. I can do whatever the bloody hell I like.’

I make my way out of the kitchen and dive into the hallway. From the living room window I watch Dominic pull his car out onto the main road. I curl my fists. God, I hate that man.

*****************

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

DI Dominic Hitchens (lead detective) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him. A flashback scene to a year ago has shown Susannah questioning Stacey about her relationship with her ex-husband. Ruth has now given Stacey an update and tells her she's discovered Susannah appeared to be in a good mood about something the day she died. As the investigation proceeds, Stacey receives a visit from her ex-husband and they talk about what happened, and something that Daniel said arouses Susannah's suspicions. Frustrated with lack of progress, Stacey makes the decision to visit the school where Susannah worked and is confronted by the headmistress.

Chapter 22
The Fix - Chapter Twenty-Two

By Jacob1395

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of language.

1st September 2022

‘How about a holiday to Italy?’ I suggest, looking up from the advertisement in the web page that’s popped up on my I-Pad, showcasing the dreamy Amalfi Coast and the beautiful turquoise sea looking so inviting, almost as though I can dive straight into it.

God it shows you all the technology we carry is actually listening, I was only talking to Rachel yesterday about how I really fancied a holiday to Italy. I can’t believe I’ve never been. I begged Daniel to take me for years, but he much preferred his Ski trips in the winter and party places like Marbella and Ibiza in the summer, there was never any compromise with him. Perhaps that was a sign then we weren’t compatible for each other. I should just go on my own, but I feel I need to pluck up the courage to do that. Maybe I should have a holiday here in the UK first before I consider going abroad to see if I enjoy it. I could do a weekend away somewhere.

Joshua frowns at me, taking a sip of his coffee. We’re sitting at the kitchen table; I’ve just made us a fresh brew. ‘When?’ he asks. 'I wouldn't mind a holiday to Italy; you know how mad I go for pizza and pasta.' 

I shrug, and continue flicking through my I-Pad at the holiday suggestions. ‘I dunno, maybe before the end of this year. We didn’t have the chance to go away this summer, did we? It would be nice to get one holiday in before Christmas.’

He places his cup on the table. ‘Well, it’ll have to be out of term time, won’t it,’ Joshua says. ‘Susannah’s school starts again for the autumn term on Monday. She won’t be able to take any more time off at the moment.’

‘Well, we can always go during the half term holiday, isn’t it normally in October?’

‘Yeah it is, but prices are always mega dear during the school holidays,’ he says, rolling his eyes.

‘I’m sure that won’t be a problem, I’d be more than happy to pay for the both of you, it’s not like I’ve got anyone else to spend my money on. Are you coming back here tonight or are you going back to yours?’

He glances at his watch. ‘Probably back to mine, I suspect, I’m meeting Susannah later today, we’re going to the cinema. She’s in for some sort of teacher training day before all the kids come back.’

‘Ooh nice, what are you going to see?’

‘No idea yet,’ he replies. ‘I’m gonna let Susannah choose, I’m not really that bothered. You know me; I normally always end up falling asleep in the cinema. Perhaps we might just end up going for a meal out that’ll be better.’

‘Well, actually, give me one sec,’ I say.

I jump up from my seat, dart out of the kitchen, into the hallway and through into the living room. My purse is lying on the coffee table. I pick it up and pull out £100 I drew out at the weekend; I re-join Joshua back in the kitchen.

‘Treat yourselves,’ I say, pushing the money towards him.

He shakes his head. ‘No, don’t worry about that, Mum, we don’t need you to give us anything.’

‘No, Joshua, I want you take it. I gave Rachel some money not that long ago. Go on, have a great evening.’

He stares at me, as if unsure what to say next. ‘OK, are you sure?’

‘Take it,’ I insist, thrusting the cash towards him. ‘Have a couple of glasses of wine on me.’

He grins. ‘Well, I doubt we’ll be having alcohol, although Susannah might want to if she’s going to have the kids to contend with tomorrow when they come back.’

I smile. ‘Tell her to let her hair down.’

‘Thanks, Mum,’ he says and kisses me on the cheek. ‘I just wish she would answer my messages though, it’s not like her to leave me hanging like this.’

I shrug. ‘She’ll be busy, Joshua, I’m sure everything is fine.’

He pulls out his phone and flicks through. I can see his last message to Susannah remains unanswered, I’m pretty sure he sent it a couple of hours ago now, when she would’ve been taking her lunch break. ‘I’ll maybe catch you at some point at the weekend,’ he says, putting his phone back into his pocket.

‘Yeah, of course, let me know if you fancy doing anything. Perhaps the five of us could go out for lunch on Sunday, me, you, Susannah and Rachel.’

 ‘Yeah, that'll be nice, I’ll speak to Susannah later and see what she says, I’m sure she’ll be up for it. Right, I’m gonna head to the school and surprise her.’

He finishes of his coffee, heads out of the kitchen and into the hallway. He and Susannah are so lucky to have found each other. I try to think back to the early dates Daniel and I went on. He always had to wear the flashiest of gear to try and impress me, although I suspect now it might’ve been for the eyes of any lady, who may have happened to have been around him. The bastard. I’m just glad Joshua hasn’t taken after him. I’m sure he and Susannah have a bright future together.

***************

Characters:

Stacey (mother of Joshua) 

Lucie (foreman of the jury)

Joshua (Stacey's son)

Susannah (murder victim) 

Rachel (Stacey's daughter)

Daniel (Stacey's ex-husband) 

Ruth (journalist) 

DI Dominic Hitchens (lead detective) 

Author Notes

Stacey attended the last day of her son's trial and was devastated when he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Susannah, when she believes he is innocent. She is certain one of the jury members, the foreman, knows this too. Stacey is now desperate to prove her son's innocence. On her way out of the courtroom, Stacey spots the foreman and decides to follow her, following her to her home in Romford. Before Stacey has the chance to speak to her she collapses outside her front door. Stacey has a brief conversation with the foreman, Lucie, but before they can have a proper chat, an ambulance arrives and she's taken to hospital. In a flashback scene to a year before the trial, Stacey discovers her son, Joshua, is seeing someone after her daughter, Rachel shows her a post on Instagram. Her ex husband, Daniel has now urged Stacey to move on with her life and to forget about what's happened. Lucie tells her she will try to help her prove her son's innocence. In a flashback scene from over a year ago, Joshua tells her that he has started dating a girl called Susannah. Lucie's now agreed to contact a friend who might be able to help them. Stacey has now met with Lucie and her friend, Ruth, who agrees to help them look into the case; Ruth suggests to Stacey that she visit her son in prison; Rachel agrees to organise the visit. When they visit Joshua, Stacey is shocked to see he has a black eye and fears he's become a target inside prison. He also tells Stacey the court was right to convict him, but she feels there's something he's keeping secret from her and this pushes her to continue to fight for him. A flashback scene to a year ago has shown Susannah questioning Stacey about her relationship with her ex-husband. Ruth has now given Stacey an update and tells her she's discovered Susannah appeared to be in a good mood about something the day she died. As the investigation proceeds, Stacey receives a visit from her ex-husband and they talk about what happened, and something that Daniel said arouses Stacey's suspicions. Frustrated with lack of progress, Stacey makes the decision to visit the school where Susannah worked and is confronted by the headmistress. DI Dominic Hitchens has now visited Stacey and warned her about visiting the school.

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