Anything for Her by Jack Jordan

connected?’ Jessica asks.
    She waits patiently for Louise’s response, while suspicions about the woman before her begin to seep into her mind.
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘You don’t know?’
    ‘I’m not sure.’
    ‘How could the two be connected?’
    ‘I don’t know. It might be a coincidence,’ Louise says. ‘But both happened on the same night. That’s what makes me wonder if they’re connected, that’s all.’
    Louise looks agitated. Jessica looks at her and can’t help but wonder whether she is hiding something.
    Louise puts out her cigarette and immediately lights a third, exhaling smoke into the room. The smoke begins to give Jessica a headache. When she turns her head to cough, she notices a box: a clear plastic box.
    ‘Are those…’ She looks at the box, her brow furrowed. ‘Birds?’
    Louise’s eyes widen and dart towards the box.
    Jessica focuses on Louise. They stare at each other in silence. Jessica waits for an answer.
    ‘Something keeps happening,’ Louise says, finally. ‘Someone keeps leaving dead birds for me to find.’
    ‘Why would they do that?’
    ‘How should I know?’
    They stare at each other for a few seconds.
    ‘Can I see them?’
    Louise hesitates, before begrudgingly getting up from the sofa and retrieving the box. She puts it on the coffee table and opens the lid with trembling hands. Jessica leans forwards and grimaces at the stench. She looks down at the birds.
    ‘How many are in there?’
    ‘Twenty-two.’
    ‘
Twenty-two?
’
    Louise nods nervously.
    ‘And you didn’t think to tell the police about this?’
    ‘I’m telling you now.’
    Jessica looks at her quizzically, trying to work her out.
    ‘How long has this been happening?’
    ‘Two days.’
    ‘Twenty-two dead birds in
two days
?’
    This is not where Jessica thought this night was going. She’s intrigued.
    It appears Louise didn’t think it would go this way either. She looks terrified.
    Louise nods.
    ‘Where were they left?’
    ‘The first two were left on the doormat outside the front door. The last two were… they were left in my car after it was attacked.’
    ‘Why did you remove them?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    Louise removes two dead birds from her dressing gown pockets. She places them in the box with the others. Jessica returns her eyes to the box. Twenty-four dead birds stare up at her.
    The more Louise talks, the more Jessica becomes suspicious of her.
    ‘Where were the other twenty birds left?’
    Louise hesitates. She looks away from the detective and takes another drag on her cigarette, as if unsure what to do or say.
    ‘Mrs Leighton?’
    ‘On my bed. While I was sleeping.’
    Jessica is startled into silence. For a few seconds she tries to absorb Louise’s reply.
    ‘Someone came into your house and left twenty dead birds on your bed while you were asleep, and you didn’t think to call the police?’
    The women stare at each other for an intense few seconds.
    ‘I’m having a really bad week, all right?’ Louise replies. ‘I’m not myself. I’m not thinking straight.’
    ‘I think I’ll have that drink after all, Mrs Leighton,’ she says, writing notes on her pad. ‘I have a lot more questions that need to be answered.’
    ‘I’ll put the kettle on, then.’
    Louise puts out her cigarette and makes her way to the kitchen, while Jessica’s mind reels with questions and suspicions about Louise.

Chapter Twenty-six
    Louise wakes to the sound of a large vehicle reversing, beeping as it goes. Sunlight frames each slat on the blind at the window, covering the room in stripes.
    Exhaustion dominates her like a hangover. Her temples are throbbing and her mouth is dry. She remembers her eventful night: her missing daughter, her vandalised car, DI Jessica Dean and her relentless bombardment of questions. She instantly feels sick. She had managed only a few measly hours of sleep after DI Dean left.
    Throwing back the duvet, she climbs out of bed and goes to the window. She