Kate was embarrassed by her assumption. She hoped her face wasn’t still as red as it felt and she brushed her hair forward to hide behind it. ‘I really do know how to put my foot in it, don’t I?’
‘Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’m not embarrassed by my sexuality; I just would rather not make it public knowledge. I’m not defined by who I’m attracted to and, if I’m honest, it still confuses me no end. But I’d rather have told you myself.’ Maggie shrugged and Kate could understand her feelings.
‘Well, if it’s any consolation, I think any relationship is confusing as well as the emotions that go with them. I’m usually quite blind to those things.’
Maggie nodded and Kate wasn’t sure whether that was because she felt the same or because Maggie had had a crush on her and she was oblivious to the signs. She had embarrassed herself enough this evening so she didn’t ask for clarification.
‘So now that you have the dirt on me,’ Maggie swilled the wine in her glass. ‘It’s your turn to spill. Love of your life? Weirdos? Never-going-to-happens?’
‘Ha! I guess it’s only fair.’ Kate shifted in her seat. She wasn’t one to open up easily but then again, neither was Maggie. It’d be nice to have someone to chat to about things. ‘I’ve never been married or come even close. I’ve had a few relationships, both back home and in London, but nothing since I moved to Staffordshire. I’ve also had my fair share of weirdos, but I think most people have.’
‘Interesting. Tell me more about the weirdos. I’m always curious about those things. Unless it’s too awkward to talk about.’
Maggie must have noticed her discomfort. ‘Oh, you know how it is. Guys who won’t take no for an answer or who are into things that you’re not. I love my look, but I think it can give people an impression of me that just isn’t true. Do you know what I mean?’
‘Definitely. I’ve seen it happen before. Can’t say that’s ever happened to me, though I have had a few people misunderstand my intentions. It can make things messy. That could be why I keep things quiet about myself. It can work against you though. I knew this guy once who I liked as a friend but he just didn’t get it. It wasn’t because he was a bloke either, I just didn’t fancy him. He kept calling me and in the end, I just had to block his number and threaten him with harassment if he carried on.’
‘I’ve had that before. I don’t even know who the guy was. He’d call from a number that couldn’t be traced and play old music in the background. I reported it to the police, but they couldn’t really do anything about it.’
‘Wow. Sounds a bit scary. I guess the recent events have brought all that up again?’
‘To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it much. At the time, it really affected me. I was working at various temporary jobs through the consultancy firm I mentioned earlier and I was a bit homesick, if I’m honest. I had to take a few months off; the university were great and let me use the time for research on a project I was involved in. I never went back to temporary work and of course I was lucky enough to get the job at the DAHU, so it was a new start.’
‘Shit. Sounds like it really did a number on you. If you ever need to talk, you know I’m here for you, right?’
‘I’d rather just leave that behind me now. Ironic right? Given that we have someone killing women and dressing them up like me. I guess I’m just trying to keep things together. I went into a really dark place; my anxiety was through the roof. I don’t want to go back there …’ A thought occurred to her then and she looked Maggie in the eyes. ‘You knew all this though, didn’t you? That’s why you brought me here. You think there’s some connection between what happened in London and what’s going on now.’ Kate tugged on her earlobe.
‘The thought did cross my mind. I had some idea that something had happened. I think there may be a connection with temp agencies, but I’m not one hundred per cent sure yet, so …’
Kate pushed her chair back and the metal screeched on the floor. ‘I wish you’d been honest with me. You could have just asked.’ She stood and didn’t know whether she was shaking from fear or anger.
‘Hang on. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset you if there was no lead to go on. And I actually enjoyed getting to know a bit more about you.’ Maggie pointed to the chair and Kate softened and sat back down.
‘I appreciate the apology but I’ve been hurt by so-called friends in the past. I don’t like people, especially my friends, going behind my back. I get that you were doing it with the best intentions, but there’s really no need to go behind my back again.’ Kate had no time for drama; she’d had enough of it on her plate and, if she was honest with herself, she had hoped that her friendship with Maggie would progress to something more than talking about work every time they met. It would have been nice to have a female companion to confide in outside of work. Maybe she misjudged Maggie.
Maggie’s shoulders slumped. ‘Noted. Shall we finish these drinks and just go then? Or do you want to talk?’
‘I’ve said all that I’m going to say on the matter. However, I think you might be on to something with the agency connection. Perhaps our guy works at or is registered with an agency. It can’t be a coincidence that the two women were also temps, can it? But that wouldn’t explain how he would know me.’
‘I can think of two possibilities. Your nuisance caller from London is our killer and followed you once you left the consultancy firm. He may have then registered with an agency up here and happened upon his victims. Or …’
‘Or what?’ Kate felt the goose bumps rise up on her arms.
‘Or he’s agency staff and works with you.’
‘What? A police officer? Someone at the DAHU?’ Kate’s breaths shortened.
‘No. We don’t have any agency police officers, but we do have some agency admin staff. I think we need to look more closely at who those people are.’