Page 14 of Her Lips Are Sealed

‘We’re looking for Rena Derry,’ said Ben.

‘You found her, why?’

Morgan answered, ‘We need to have a chat with you. Is it possible to come inside?’

Rena studied them both then shrugged. ‘Yeah, you’ll have to excuse the mess though. I haven’t had time to clean up this week.’

She opened the door and they followed her inside. Ben’s eyes widened at the state of untidiness so far Morgan thought they might pop out of his head. There were clothes, books, cups, plates covering every surface. It was the opposite of Rachel’s flat. Rena put her carrier bag on the floor and began scooping armfuls of clothes off the sofa, clearing a space for them. She dumped everything on the already cluttered table in the corner.

‘I’m not the tidiest of people, but I don’t have visitors, so it doesn’t matter. Why are you here? Did Rachel send you to do a welfare check on me again? I don’t see her very often and I’ve ignored her last few phone calls and messages because she’s a gigantic pain in my arse.’

Morgan now felt as if she’d swallowed a rock. She cleared her throat, realising that Ben was waiting for her to do the talking. ‘When was the last time you spoke with Rachel?’

Rena sat on the arm of the chair opposite them which was piled so high with books it looked as if they might topple over at any minute. She shrugged. ‘Probably a month ago, maybe six weeks. What did she tell you? That I was having an existential crisis again because I’m not. I’m fine, I take my meds, I go to work, I just want to be left alone, that’s all. Tell her I don’t need her checking in on me, especially if she’s phoning you lot to come do it because she’s too busy to check herself. She’s just wasted your time.’

‘Rachel didn’t send us. I’m so sorry but we have some terrible news for you. Is there anyone you’d like us to contact for you to come be with you?’

Rena’s eyes narrowed into tiny slits. ‘Don’t tell me she’s dead, that would be just like Rachel to do that and get one better over me.’ She laughed.

Morgan didn’t think she had ever felt this uncomfortable for a very long time.

‘I’m so sorry, but yes, Rachel is dead. Her cleaner found her body this afternoon and there is no easy way to say this, but she was murdered inside of her flat.’

Morgan glanced at the tower of books, all of them true crime: The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule – a classic Ted Bundy, A Serial Killer’s Daughter by Kerri Rawlinson, she had read most of them herself.

Rena cupped her hand against her mouth. ‘You’re joking right? This is something she’s asked you to do so it will scare the crap out of me.’

Ben shook his head. ‘It’s no joke, this isn’t something we would ever joke about. Your sister died sometime last night, so it’s important that you tell us anything you think could help us to find her killer.’

Rena stood up, then sat back down again. ‘I can’t tell you anything. I don’t know anything about her life except that it’s much better than mine, as you can tell. Rachel has her shit together, has a good job, friends, a cat. Oh God, is the cat okay?’

Morgan glanced at Ben; Rena seemed more bothered about the cat than her own sister. ‘Yes, the cat is fine and being looked after by the neighbour.’

‘Phew, that’s good because I can barely look after myself. I don’t need a cat added to the mess. Have you got the person who did this?’

‘Not yet, but we will,’ Morgan replied.

Rena began to laugh, then stopped and stared at them, her eyes horrified. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that, it’s not funny. I’m not good at stuff like this. What do I do now?’

‘That’s okay, it’s the shock. Are your parents around? We need to talk to them.’

‘Our dad died ten years ago, and Mum died last year. It’s just me and Rachel; I don’t know what to do.’

‘We have specially trained officers who can help you if you’d like us to sort that out for you. They can guide you through everything, support you at the identification, that kind of stuff.’

‘I’m not going to see her dead body, uh-uh, no way. I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that.’

Ben began to fiddle with the collar of his shirt, trying to loosen his top button. Morgan knew he was uncomfortable.

‘Rena, we need someone to identify Rachel. Also, do you have any ID just to make sure there is no confusion?’

‘Get Dan to do it, he’s always in and out of her flat, would like to be in and out of her bed too, if she’d let him, but she’s never been into him. She likes him as a friend, but not anything else. Hey, have you checked him out and made sure he isn’t some weird serial killer hiding in plain sight?’ Rena went to a bookcase and pulled out a passport from between two books and passed it to Morgan. ‘It’s out of date; can’t remember the last time I had the urge to leave the country, or the money.’

Morgan studied the passport – it was definitely Rena; she did look like Rachel but there were significant differences. Like the tattoos for one thing. Rena had three tiny stars above her left eyebrow and they were present in this photograph. She hadn’t noticed any tattoos on Rachel’s face.

‘Okay, if you want us to ask Dan, we can do that, but if he’s unable to then we’re going to need you to do it. Did Rachel have a partner or any exes that caused her any bother?’

‘Thank fuck for that, I don’t want her dead eyes staring at me and haunting my dreams every night.’ She laughed again; this time it was much higher pitched. ‘Oh God, I’m sorry, tell Dan I can’t do it, please.’