Costa Crew 2: They Walk Among Us

Chapter 23 - Avengers Assemble

Becky couldn't help but grin as she was led into the visitor's area and her eyes fell on Paul, Hannah, Charlotte, Ted and Lisa on the other side of the glass. "What a team," she said as her handcuffs were removed and she sat down. "Six of us, six original Avengers... I'M TONY FLIPPING STARK!"

"Who would I be?" asked Charlotte.

Becky hesitated. "Good question. Paul would be Captain America, Hannah would be Hawkeye…"

"Hey, how come I'm not Hawkeye?" asked Ted indignantly.

"Because Hawkeye's too precious for this world and so is Hannah," replied Becky. Of course ideally Hannah would be Spiderman but we're only talking about Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. So I'm Iron Man, Paul's Cap, Hannah's Hawkeye, Charlotte's Thor…"

"Hold on, why am I Thor?" questioned Charlotte.

Becky grinned. "Because you're a goddess," she said, winking.

Charlotte laughed. "Okay, you're feeling better."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "You guys are such nerds."

"I know," Becky snorted. "Ted would be Hulk because he appears mild-mannered but is actually fearless and indestructible, and Lisa would be Black Widow because she's wiping off the red on her ledger. Anyway, how to clear my name."

"If we can figure out Drake's involvement in all of this and get him to confess then we can crack this whole thing open," Paul began. "Samantha, Ben and I will keep pushing from the outside, while Ted goes undercover and pushes from the inside. We break him and we stand a chance."

"You could talk to Joanne again," suggested Becky. "I mean, she knew almost everything and she's been giving the police whatever they want-"

"Unless you want hot chocolate," muttered Hannah.

"True," Becky agreed. "There might be something we missed in Amelia or Anthony's phone records too. Or some modification of the DNA. Dammit, if I could just get my hands on a computer again…"

"We'll work something out," said Hannah. "I'll talk to Joanne and see what she knows."

"I'll take door duty and talk to everyone in the prison at the time of Amelia's death," Charlotte added. "And I'll speak to Curt's neighbours again. Drake might have left something out of their statements."

"Drake didn't take statements," interrupted Ted. "Erica did."

Everyone fell silent. "Oh my god," muttered Becky. "I think I just solved Curt's murder."

"Wait what...oh," exclaimed Ted. "Surely not!"

"I don't know Erica as well as you do," Becky said slowly. "But if I remember correctly, Curt was found dead in the kitchen, his keys in the bowl and all the doors still locked?"

Ted nodded. "Hence the killer was probably someone he knew. But if you're right…"

"It wasn't someone he knew, but someone he trusted enough to let into his house," Becky continued. "Like a police officer. Erica makes up something about having questions for him, and because all the Hidgens family keep on the right side of the law, he invites her inside, and maybe even offers her a cup of tea. She follows him to the kitchen, grabs a knife and stabs him. Taking the knife with her, she uses Curt's keys to unlock the door, then leaves them in the bowl and closes it behind her, but doesn't lock it. An hour or so later, once she's hidden the evidence, she goes to knock on his door, and pretends to try and open it. Except it isn't locked, and she just needed to direct suspicion on someone who could possibly have a key. Namely, me. Because she worked for Amelia and this was all part of Amelia's final plan."

Charlotte shook her head. "Your logic isn't wrong, but I just can't imagine Erica working for someone like Amelia."

"I'll have a look into it," said Paul. "But your trial is only a few weeks away, and Lisa Beck's handling the case. You need to look into your defence."

"I'll handle that," Lisa said confidently. "Paul was right, I can beat her."

Becky nodded. "Amelia's dead. All I have to do to clear my name is figure out what she had to do with Curt's death, and who she had working for her in the police force, and also who actually killed her, then we go to Costa and relax. All from the comfort of a prison cell. How hard can it be?"

"So hard," Lisa replied.

Becky leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. She sighed and nodded. "So bloody hard."

***

The last time Lisa Kleinman had visited a prison, the circumstances weren't so different. Well, the last time she had visited an English prison anyway, as she had been to a great many Australian prisons, given that her job was to defend those who had been arrested. But last time she was in an English prison, she had been visiting Amelia Murphy to work on her defence. Now she was working on Becky Hidgens' defence. The main difference between the two situations was that before she had been scheming to frame Paul for Amelia's crimes, whereas now she was doing her job honestly to try and prove Becky's innocence.

There was something surreal about that conversation, with Lisa, Paul, Charlotte, Hannah and Ted on one side of the glass and Becky alone on the other side. Almost as if Lisa should be separated from the rest of them, and Becky should be the one visiting, surrounded by her closest friends. And despite everything that had happened to her, she was able to keep up a smile, laughing and joking with the rest of them and arguing over which of them best matched which Avenger.

Sometimes when everything's lost, all we can do is laugh, she thought to herself as they stood up to leave.

"Don't agree to a single interview unless I'm there," she said to Becky. "I'll come back tomorrow."

Becky smiled. "Thanks, Lisa."

It wasn't right. Any of it. Becky losing her brother then being imprisoned for Amelia's murder, the court refusing her bail, not even Lisa's presence. Of course, Becky needed a lawyer and Lisa owed her a great debt. But staying in Becky's room instead of checking into a hotel, or walking away with Becky's friends and leaving her there alone? It was too much.

The rain poured down as the group stepped out into the darkness and headed for their cars. As Paul pulled out of the car park, Lisa took out her phone and switched it on. Immediately it started ringing - she didn't recognise the number.

"Hello?" she said warily.

"I'm disappointed in you, Lisa," a dangerously low voice snarled. "The trial was one thing, but actually leaving your life of comfort behind to help Hidgens? I thought I meant more to you than that."

"A-Amelia?" asked Lisa, her whole body trembling. Paul slammed on the brakes and turned to look at her.

"Now, I realise you're not as on the ball as Hidgens or I," Amelia continued angrily. "So I'll have to make things a bit clearer for you. You have one chance to back off or I'll make you regret it."

"You're...dead…" replied Lisa. Saying this calmed her slightly and she decided to say it again with more confidence. This was a recording, it had to be. "You're dead. There's nothing you can do."

Amelia sighed. "If you're willing to bet your life on it, then sure. But what about Maya's life?"

"No!" screamed Lisa. "Please, don't hurt her!"

"The choice is yours," Amelia said. "Try to be one of the good guys and represent Hidgens, or stay out of matters that don't concern you and get on the next flight back to Australia."

Lisa didn't stop shaking after Amelia - or whoever was using her voice - ended the call. She buried her head in her hands, sobbing and muttering, "No...no…"

After a few minutes she was finally calm enough to look up at Paul and Hannah and say, "I'm sorry, I can't take this case. You'll need to find someone else to represent Becky."

TO BE CONCLUDED IN COSTA CREW 3: MAKE OR BREAK