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The police station was located on Old Dover Road, just off the ring road which was snarled with the usual nose to tail rush hour traffic. The buildings over this side of town were less attractive but a large section of the city walls was still intact, and it was pleasing to see remnants of Canterbury’s historical legacy. Gina scurried down one of the pedestrian underpasses, keeping her eyes firmly to the front as she walked past a homeless young man sitting on a sleeping bag reading a tatty paperback, next to a sign asking for money. Emerging into the afternoon sunshine, she walked the twenty yards or so to the main entrance of the featureless building.
To her relief, the waiting area was occupied by only two other members of the public who were engaged in studying their phones so presumably were already being attended to.
‘Yes, madam,’ said the officer on the desk. ‘How can I help.’
Gina relayed all the information to the uniformed constable, and he had recoiled in a fashion similar to her own when the contents of the box were revealed. Due to the warm weather, the dead mouse was beginning to smell, and Gina hoped she would be going home without it.
‘Just take a seat whilst I speak to one of my colleagues,’ he suggested.
After about five minutes, another policeman came out and asked for her by name. She followed him through to a room in the main part of the station.
‘I must say, we have had cases of things like this being sent in the post to people, but I’ve never seen anything like this before,’ said the young man who had introduced himself as Sergeant Darren Hilton.
Someone had removed a patch of fur from a mouse and had pinned it alongside on the piece of card.
‘That’s what’s so horrible about it,’ said Gina. ‘Also, the other needle looks like it’s gone through the heart, almost like a voodoo effigy.’
‘Yes, well it is very odd.’
‘It’s disgusting, it was such an awful shock.’
‘Do you have the previous items with you?’
‘Yes, here they are.’
‘Hmm,’ sighed the policeman. ‘Well, those are quite different, aren’t they? A card and a notebook. Could they be from someone different and they were just a genuine mistake?’
‘I’ve no idea. But there was the phone call as well, that was definitely someone trying to interfere in my life.’
‘So, do you have an idea of anyone with a grudge against you?’
‘Well, I have suspicions about two of the witnesses at the inquiry but no proof.’
‘I don’t need to tell you it’s a difficult situation. Any items sent through the post will be covered with fingerprints. Besides, we can hardly ask the witnesses at the inquiry for fingerprints for comparison without anything more substantial.’
‘So, what do you suggest?’ said Gina, a hint of aggression creeping into her tone. Although she had anticipated this response, hearing it from the police was a hard message to absorb.
‘We would encourage you to be vigilant. Don’t go to places alone at night. Lock your doors, keep your car door locked when driving, that sort of thing. If you should get any further items of suspicious mail, then bring them straight here, unopened. Here’s my card, should you need to contact me directly,’ he paused. ‘As for the phone call, well, if that happens again try to find out the number, we might be able to check it, although it will likely be a Pay As You Go one.’
‘Thank you,’ said Gina, without enthusiasm.
‘Have you been aware of anyone following you? Watching your flat?’
‘Of course not!’ she snapped. ‘Sorry, I mean no. It’s very busy in the city, and I’m occupied with the inquiry and my work so I wouldn’t have even thought to watch out for anyone.’
‘In most cases, the person will just get bored with this type of game and begin to worry they are taking too much risk. There are cases when it escalates, I have to warn you, but that’s rare.’
‘I did have a nail in my tyre but I guess that might not be related.’
‘Well, yes, it’s a common occurrence.’
Gina sighed, she felt depressed.
‘So you can’t do anything?’ she asked.
‘Not really. It’s low-level intimidation at the moment but we will make a note of it and if you do think of anything else, please get in touch. I’m very sorry this has upset you.’
‘Well, thank you for your time,’ said Gina, getting up to leave.
‘I’ll show you out,’ said Sergeant Hilton.
Gina left the police station and wandered back in the direction of her flat. She would wait until she was inside and away from the noisy traffic before she updated Will. She fumbled in her bag for her e-cigarette and tried to calm her nerves. For the first time ever, she looked over her shoulder at every corner in case she had a stalker.
**
‘You’ll never guess who I saw last week in Marks and Spencer.’
‘Well, not on that information,’ joked Trish, finishing the remainder of the pastry.
‘Mrs Carter, from school, or Mrs Farter as we used to call her.’
‘Lucky you,’ said Trish. ‘I hated that bitch. She was like some sort of PE instructor from the army. You could see her shouting at new recruits and reducing them to tears. Are you sure it was her?’
‘Oh, yes, definitely. She’s not changed, even though it’s nearly forty years ago. I must say she looked remarkable really for her age. She told me she goes running and has done the London Marathon four times.’
‘I’ll tell Tom to look out for her and trip her up if he sees her,’ said Trish with malice. ‘Perhaps he could tip her into the Stour and drown her!’
‘Hey, chill out! Sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned her. I didn’t want to depress you!’
Trish laughed. ‘No, well, he wouldn’t recognise her, so there’s no risk. Anyway, don’t worry, it’s in the past, as you say, a long time ago. So, you were saying about the fundraising you’ve been involved with.’
‘Yes, the response has been amazing. We’ve done a moonlight walk, a coffee morning, the usual things and now we are organising an upcycling event where people sell their items for charity.’
‘Excellent, well done!’
‘Actually, at the risk of mentioning school again, they’ve been really supportive. I got in touch with the Old Girls’ association, and they’ve also done fundraising. They had a drinks reception because someone who used to go to the school now owns a vineyard near here, so they donated the wine and people paid twenty pounds per head to go, it was very popular.’
‘Perhaps I should reconsider and join. Can you send me the link?’
‘Sure, I’ll do it now.’ Trish heard her phone ping as the message was received. ‘Actually, there’s a reunion with a speaker, I’m not sure you’ll want to go though. I can’t go as we are going to visit Jenny for a few days.’
‘Oh, that will be nice for you. She’s still in York, isn’t she?’
‘Yes, near there.’
‘Why do you say I won’t want to go?’
Sue fiddled with her phone once more and then showed the page to her friend.
Trish read the page and nodded. ‘Actually, it does look interesting.’
