Waiting for Wednesday

his
side.’ There was a sound to his left, a sort of cackle. It came from Riley.
    ‘Yvette’s definitely not taking
Kerrigan’s side. She can’t stand him.’
    ‘And what did he need condoms
for?’ said Karlsson. ‘Not for his wife.’
    ‘And not for Mrs Lennox,’ said
Yvette. ‘We know she had an IUD fitted.’
    ‘He still could have worn a
condom,’ said Riley.
    ‘What for?’ said Karlsson.
    Riley looked uneasy now. Karlsson
shouldn’t need to be told this.
    ‘You know,’ he said. ‘To
stop him catching something from Ruth Lennox. You know what they say, when you sleep
with someone, you’re sleeping with all their partners and their partners’
partners and their partners’ parners …’
    ‘Yes, we get the idea,’ said
Yvette.
    Karlsson suddenly thought of Sadie. It had
been bad enough already. It wasn’t possible, was it? He suppressed the idea. It
was too terrible to think about. ‘Do you think so?’ he asked.
    ‘No,’ said Yvette, firmly.
‘If the condoms had been for Ruth Lennox, they would have been in the flat and
Munster didn’t find any there. There must have been someone else.’
    ‘That sounds right,’ said
Karlsson. ‘The question is, did Ruth Lennox know about that?’
    ‘The other question is why she had
that dial of pills in her cupboard.’
    ‘Also,’ said Yvette,
‘I’ve been thinking about the doll.’
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘We’re assuming it was sent to
Ruth Lennox and it was a warning. Which would mean that someone was on to
them.’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘What if it was meant for Dora all the
time? We know she was being badly bullied at school in the months leading up to her
mother’s death. Maybe kids who knew she was ill and would be alone in the house
did it.’
    ‘Why?’ Riley sounded
indignant.
    ‘Because kids are cruel.’
    ‘But that’s just
horrible.’
    ‘They would think it was just a
game,’ said Yvette. Everyone noticed the note of bitterness in her voice and her
colour rose.
    ‘You may be right.’ Karlsson
spoke quickly to cover the awkwardness. ‘We might be leaping to
conclusions.’
    ‘Poor thing,’ said Riley.
‘Whichever it was.’
    ‘The pills belonged to Judith
Lennox,’ said Frieda.
    She had come to the police station first
thing that morning.Karlsson noticed the rings around her eyes, the
strain in her face. She wouldn’t sit down, but stood by the window.
    ‘That clears up one
mystery.’
    ‘She’s fifteen.’
    ‘It’s not so unusual for a
fifteen-year-old to be sexually active,’ said Karlsson. ‘At least
she’s being careful.’
    ‘Her boyfriend is much older, in his
late twenties.’
    ‘That’s a big gap.’
    ‘And Judith thinks perhaps her mother
found out about them.’
    ‘I see.’
    ‘I thought you should know. I told
Judith I would pass on the information.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘His name is Zach Greene.’ She
watched Karlsson scribble the name on the pad in front of him.
    ‘Do you want some coffee?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Are you all right?’
    She considered the question, wondering
whether to tell him about Dean, and her fear that he had been in Olivia’s house.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she answered at last.
    ‘I think it does.’
    ‘I have to go now.’
    ‘You’re not back at work yet,
are you?’
    ‘Barely.’
    ‘So please sit down for a few minutes
and tell me what’s up.’
    ‘I have to go. There are things I have
to do.’
    ‘What things?’
    ‘You wouldn’t understand. I
don’t understand.’
    ‘Try me.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘I’m going to have it.’
    Sasha and Frieda were sitting in a small
café beside Regent’s Canal. Ducks leading flotillas of ducklings steered through
the litter and twigs that bobbed in the brown waters.
    ‘You’ve decided.’
    ‘
We’ve
decided.’
    ‘It’s been so quick,’ said
Frieda. ‘A month ago, you barely knew him.’
    ‘I know – but don’t look so
worried. I want you to be glad for me.’
    ‘I am glad.’
    ‘I’ve never been so certain of
anything in my life, or so happy. If it had been only a week, I’d still be
certain. I’m going to move in with Frank and I’m going to have a baby. My
whole life is changing.’
    ‘You deserve your happiness,’
said Frieda, sincerely. And she thought of Sandy in America. He seemed very far off now.
Sometimes she could barely remember his face or the sound of his voice.
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘I can’t knit.’
    ‘You don’t need to
knit.’
    ‘Or baby talk.’
    ‘No, I can’t imagine