Free Woman in Black by Kerry Wilkinson Page A

never hear anyone saying that without thinking of her mother claiming a hot drink was the best thing to rehydrate you on a warm day. It sounded suspiciously made up but she had never bothered to look into it to know for sure.
    Jessica rarely took notes herself nowadays, which was something that came with seniority. She hunted through the drawers of her desk to find a notepad and a pen and, for the first time in a while, started to write.
    ‘I’ve read the report about your brother’s disappearance but I was hoping you could tell me a bit more about it. ‘When exactly did he go missing?’
    Charlie shrugged slightly. ‘I’m not sure. Obviously I’ve been living down south and he’s been up here. We’ve only been back talking regularly recently and even then not more than once or twice a week. It was only when I’d not been able to reach him for a couple of weeks that I contacted you.’
    ‘Why have you only recently been back in regular contact?’
    Jessica thought she saw Charlie shiver a little but it was likely because of the air-conditioning unit buzzing away over his head and the fact he was dressed for a summer’s day.
    The man sighed, looking at the floor. ‘We had a big falling out and didn’t speak for something like five years. He got in contact a few months ago and it was only after that we started talking again. Things were going well and it’s partly why I was moving back here.’
    Jessica could see he was looking a little upset but trying not to show it. ‘What did you fall out about?’ She knew the answer was likely one of two things – a woman or money.
    Charlie hesitated for a moment before replying. ‘Our mother died when we were young but our dad passed away five years back. He raised Ed and me on his own. I’m the oldest by eighteen months and I guess I thought what he left would be shared out between us. Back then I had been working around the country but Ed had been looking after Dad as he was getting ill. It turned out Dad left the house and pretty much everything else to him. Ed said he’d earned things by being a full-time carer while I had gone off to pursue a career. There was this big row not long after the funeral and that was it – I went to London while he stayed here.’
    Jessica had heard similar stories many times before. There was nothing quite like a will to get families falling out.
    ‘Is it just you two?’
    ‘Yes, we don’t have any other family. I suppose it’s why the disappearance is so hard to take. We had just made things up after all this time and then he’s gone.’
    Jessica could see he was looking a little emotional. ‘Is all of this why you were moving back?’
    Charlie nodded. ‘Sort of. I was looking for a new job anyway. I work in publishing but wasn’t enjoying it any more. It was more going through the motions and getting paid each month. Ed was an artist and the one with real talent. He phoned my office out of the blue three or four months ago. I didn’t know how he got my number at first but he said he had looked me up on the Internet and found my name on the company’s website.’
    ‘Did you actually meet or just talk on the phone?’
    ‘We met once. He came down to see me and gave me a key for the house, saying I was welcome any time. Eventually, with that and the fact I was after a new job anyway, I decided to move back. Ed lived in our house – Dad’s house – ever since he passed away. He told me he wanted to sign half of it over to me and that I could come and live with him. I didn’t know if I wanted it to be a permanent thing. The place is massive out Alderley Edge way but I think I’ve got a taste for city centres after living in London.’
    Jessica knew the type of houses he was talking about. The area was just across the Cheshire border on the south of the city with many properties belonging to famous footballers and other celebrities. Even the smaller houses were enormous and, given the money involved, she could see why