by P. F. Ford
'Of course I am, and I'm disappointed you feel the need to doubt me.'
Norman felt somewhat uncomfortable as he thought about this. He had worked with Bradshaw many years ago, and it was true the man had a reputation for looking after his officers. Maybe they had all been a bit too quick to judge him and jump to Dave's defence.
'I've known Dave for a few years now,' Norman said, more reasonably now. 'He's more than just an old colleague. He's probably the best friend I've ever had, so I'm always ready to cover his back if there's shit heading his way.'
'I understand that,' said Bradshaw, 'which is exactly why I've come to you to ask for your help.'
'What sort of help?'
Bradshaw sighed. 'I understand he got rather attached to Jenny Radstock.'
'You know very well he did, but that relationship ran its course and died a death while he was away. I think he realised she was going to be much too demanding. I believe he may even have told her to clear off.'
'Why do you say that?'
'I get the feeling he was expecting her to have moved out when he got back. He just didn't seem too bothered that she had gone. In fact, he still doesn't seem to care.'
'Have you talked to him about it?'
'It's quite difficult to talk to him about anything, really,' said Norman. 'He's still pretty touchy about having to see a shrink and be assessed. Right now, he seems to think everyone is involved in this assessment, and he tends to view all questions with suspicion.'
'It's just standard procedure after an incident of that nature,' Bradshaw said quickly.
'Hey, you don't need to explain that to me. I'm not the one who doesn't understand it's for his own good. The problem is, all this hanging around is driving him crazy. He just wants to get back to work.'
'Do you think he's ready?'
'It's probably just what he needs, but it's not up to me, is it?'
'I spoke to the psychologist yesterday,' said Bradshaw. 'She says he's as good as ready, so fingers crossed, maybe he'll do enough to convince her this morning.'
'Let's hope so,' said Norman. 'Anyway, what was it you wanted me to do?'
'I want you to find Jenny.'
Norman laughed. 'Are you kidding? If Dave doesn't want her around, he's not going to be too happy if I bring her back, is he?'
'I don't want you to bring her back. I just want to know where she is. Right now, she seems to have gone completely off the radar.'
'Maybe she's gone off the radar because she doesn't want to be found. Have you thought of that?'
'Yes, I have. If that's the case, then so be it, but I want to know for sure, and I think Slater would want to know too, deep down.'
'How come she disappeared anyway?' Norman asked. 'I thought you were watching her.'
'After the first month with Slater, we were quite satisfied she was no longer being watched or followed, so I stood my people down.'
'I see. Was that a mistake?'
'So far, I've no reason to believe it was, but I can't deny that the fact she's disappeared is a concern. The thing is, I couldn't justify spending the money on what was really a favour to her parents.'
'It was never an official protection job?'
'Let's just say I was bending a few rules.'
'Well, I can tell you now, she hasn't left any clues here. I've been all over the place ,and there's absolutely nothing to tell us where she's gone,' said Norman.
'No one just vanishes into thin air. I'm sure she hasn't left the country, so she must be here somewhere.'
'Until we have some sign, I have no idea where to start. You're the guy with the resources. If you can't find her, how the hell can I?' Norman asked.
'The minute she switches her phone on, I shall know,' said Bradshaw.
'You realise she could easily have ditched it. She's probably got her hands on a new one by now.'
'Yes, that thought has crossed my mind, but I'm hoping there's some other reason she's not used it.'
'She's not stupid,' Norman said. 'She knows she can be tracked by that phone. My guess is she's not used it because she doesn't want anyone to find her.'
'Look,' Bradshaw said, sounding weary, 'I know it's a long shot, but it's worth a try.'
'I suppose if you could give me somewhere to start, I might be prepared to try to find her,' said Norman grudgingly. 'But what am I supposed to tell Dave?'
'Let me worry about him.'
'You'll need to get him out of the way somehow or he's going to know what I'm up to, and he'll want to come along and help.'
'He'll get the all-clear to come back to work today, and when he does, I have a job lined up for him that will keep him out of the way for a while.'
'You sound very confident he's going to be passed fit for work,' Norman said thoughtfully.
'Like I said, I spoke to his doctor yesterday . . .'
'Oh, I get it. You've told her to send him back to work, right?'
'You'll help me? That's a definite yes, is it?' asked Bradshaw, ignoring Norman's question.
'I'll think about it, but I need to know how this is gonna work. I mean, I'm not a charity. I need to make a living.'
'You'll be working for me as a special detective. Let's call it a consultant position. I'll send you a contract so it's all above board.'
'Do I get a badge?' Norman asked eagerly. 'It's much easier to ask questions when there's a badge involved. It makes it more official.'
'Yes, you do get a badge, but you won't be a police officer. Anyone who looks closely at the badge will know that, and they won't have to speak to you if they don't want to.'
Norman thought for a moment. 'You know, technically I am still recovering from a heart attack, so I'm going to need some help.'
'Who do you have in mind?'
'I'm assuming you will put Watson with Dave to keep an eye on him and let me know if he starts to get suspicious.'
'Correct,' said Bradshaw. 'If you were hoping for her help, I'm afraid you'll have to manage without her.'
'That's okay. I'd rather she was watching Dave. I have someone else in mind to work with me.'
'Who's that?'
'Her name is Naomi Darling,' said Norman. 'She's just quit the force, but she's good at what she does, and she's a good foil for me.'
'I don't think I know her,' said Bradshaw.
'That's not a problem. I know her, and I trust her. And I know you can trust her.'
There was silence on the line as Bradshaw considered, then finally he spoke.
'Alright, if it means I get your help, that's good enough for me.'
'She'll need a contract too.'
Bradshaw sighed. 'I'll draw up a contract for her too.'
'And you will make sure Dave is out of the way?'.
'Consider it done. I think you'll find Detective Inspector Slater will be much happier when he gets home today.'
'Okay, you come back to me when you've got him out of the way.'
'Is that a yes?'
'It's a probably,' said Norman. 'Get Dave out of the way, get those contracts set up, and give me somewhere to start. Then we might just have a deal.'
* * *
Detective Sergeant Samantha Brearley, aka Watson, was Slater's partner. She had been educated at a private girl's school and gone on to join the army, where she discovered the joys of detective work in the RMP. After leaving the army, she joined the police force, where her career was nearly ended by a bullet that shattered one of her knees.
However, Watson wasn't one for giving up. She insisted her surgeon replace her shattered knee with a new one, which she told everyone was her 'bionic knee' and would enable her to get back to work. True to her word, she had done exactly that and was as now as fit as anyone.
If asked what he thought of her, Slater would have described her as tall, athletic, and good-looking, in a 'posh bird' sort of way. He also thought she was a great partner to work with: intelligent, thoughtful, and well-organised. If he was feeling particularly honest, he would even admit
she was probably the best partner he could possibly have.
She could, however, be rather straight-laced at times, and he enjoyed pointing this out and ribbing her at every opportunity. She took all this in the spirit it was intended and actually enjoyed the banter, which was something she had never encountered before.
She had learnt very quickly that Slater was happy to take it as well as dish it out. She knew that if she bided her time, she would always get an opportunity to get her own back – and she always did. Watson thought working alongside Slater was probably the happiest she had ever been at work.
They had decided over the phone that there was no point in taking two cars and had decided to use Slater's. Watson regarded this as a bonus because he owned a Range Rover and was usually happy to let her drive. How often was a girl likely to get such an opportunity?
'Where to, Watson?' he asked as he bundled her case into the back of the car.
'North,' she said. 'We're off to Northumberland.'
'You realise that's where Norman was sent when he was in exile for three years, don't you? He says it's nothing but open moorland and sheep. And there are no people.'
'I think you'll find that's a slight exaggeration. We've got an old murder to investigate, and you can't have murders without people, can you?'
'You can tell me about it on the way.'
'If you let me drive, you can read about it,' she said. 'That way you can make sure you don't miss any the details.'
Slater grinned. 'You realise it's going to take us hours to drive that far?'
She smiled back at him. 'I certainly do, but you know you get bored driving.'
'But I'm not bored yet. You ride shotgun until we stop for lunch, and we'll swap places after that. Until then, you can read me a story about an old murder case.'
Chapter 3
Although he was staying at Slater's, officially Norman still lived in a room above a pub in town. He made a point of calling in two or three times a week to keep in touch with his landlord and collect any mail.
It would be fair to say Norman didn't get a great deal of mail, and what he did get usually consisted of bills, spam sales letters, and assorted leaflets, so he was surprised to find a letter in a handwritten blue envelope waiting for him. There was something vaguely familiar about the handwriting, and he was sure he should know whose it was, but he couldn't quite place the writer.
He carried the letter and a cup of coffee across to a table in the deserted pub and placed them down next to each other. He frowned and scratched his head as he settled in a chair and carefully tore the blue envelope open. There was a letter inside, written on matching blue paper, and as he unfolded it, he glanced quickly at the signature. He did a double take and let out a low whistle.
'How spooky is that?' he said out loud. 'Wherever you are, Jenny, your ears must be burning right now.'
By the time he had finished reading the letter, he found his right hand had involuntarily moved up to cover his mouth. He gazed out of the window at nothing in particular, trying to make sense of what he had just read. After a minute or so, he shook his head in defeat and returned his attention to the letter again. Maybe this time it would make more sense.
He re-read the letter and then slowly shook his head again. He thought for a moment or two, then reached into his pocket, pulled out his mobile phone, and dialled a number.
'Are you busy right now?' he asked when the familiar voice answered his call.
'Do you mean in general or right this minute?' asked Naomi Darling.
'Let me rephrase that. How soon can you get here?'
'You sound worried. Is there a problem you need help with?'
'I may be speaking out of turn, but I think you mentioned you needed a job,' said Norman. 'It just so happens I've been offered one for myself, but I told my customer I'm going to need some help.'
'I'm on my way,' she said. 'Where are you? At Dave's?'
'No, the pub. I just called in to say hello.'
'Stay there. Don't do anything until I get there.'
* * *
'Here, read this, and then tell me what you make of it,' said Norman when Darling joined him half an hour later. He handed her the letter and indicated a chair.
She took it and looked at him expectantly. 'What is it?'
'That's a good question,' he said. 'Go ahead and read it, then tell me what you think. I need a second opinion. I'll go and make some coffee so you can read it on your own. I'll be back in a few minutes.'
He wandered across the bar and banged his way through the door into the kitchen. He had lived here long enough to be treated like part of the family, and he often helped out in the pub if he was at a loose end. As he came back into the room carrying the two coffees, Naomi looked up, a puzzled expression on her face.
'What the hell is this all about?'
'You have no idea either?' he said, as he sat down next to her. 'That's a pity. I was hoping it was just some vague woman thing and you would know what she was on about.'
'Actually, it's not that women are vague. The problem is you guys don't listen properly,' she said. 'As for this letter, I'm afraid being a woman is no help. I have no idea what it means.'
'Crap!' said Norman. 'I was hoping that maybe she had told you something previously that might give us a clue.'
'The only person who might have some idea is Dave, but I'm not sure showing him this now would be such a good idea. Personally, I think he's better off without her, whatever the reason for them splitting up.'
'Yeah, well, I can't argue with that.'
'Did this arrive this morning?' Darling asked.
Norman nodded. 'Yeah, it makes a change from the usual bills.'
'She's saying she pissed him off on purpose so they would fall out, and he'd be glad to see the back of her.'
'That's how I understood it,' he said.
'What the heck can she be doing that she doesn't want him to get involved in?' she asked. 'It sounds to me like she's either being very melodramatic or it really is something very dodgy.'
'Yeah, that's what I thought.'
Darling studied Norman's face for a few seconds. 'This isn't the job you were talking about, is it? It's not that I don't want to help you, Norm. You know I'd love to. But I can't afford to be working for nothing looking for some empty-headed drama queen. I need to be earning money.'
Norman raised his eyebrows. 'I didn't realise you disliked her so much.'
'It's not so much that I dislike her. It's more a case of I like Dave, and I've always thought she was using him. I don't like that.'
'But you have to admit the tone of that letter suggests she cares about him,' Norman argued.
'I suppose there's a first time for everything, but I think I'll reserve judgement on her sincerity, if it's all the same to you.'
'You've never said any of this stuff before.'
'You never asked me, and who am I to tell Dave how to live his life? Besides, who's to say I'm right.'
'But would you help me look for her?' asked Norman.
'I already said, I'm not working for nothing,' she said, adamantly.
'I promise you, if you join me on this, you will be earning money,' said Norman.
'Really? How's that going to work? Have you won the lottery?'
'I wouldn't exactly say that. But I have been engaged in a professional capacity, and I insisted you would have to be working alongside me if I was going to do the job.'
Darling peered at him curiously. 'Engaged by whom?'
'Does the name Bradshaw ring a bell?'
It took a few seconds for the name to register. 'Dave's boss?'
'That's the guy.'
'But I thought he was public enemy number one?'
'I think we got that wrong,' Norman confessed. 'Apparently there is no disciplinary, and there never was going to be one. We were misinformed.'
'What about Dave? He's going to want to be in on this, isn't he?'
'He's going to be sent away to work on anoth
er job. He won't know anything about what we're doing.'
Naomi took a long, appraising look at him. 'And what about you? How are you feeling now?'
'I'm fine.'
Darling snorted derisively. 'Yeah, right.'
'No, I am, honestly,' Norman said, plastering on a smile.
She gave him a sympathetic smile of her own. 'Remember, you're not the only one here who's been trained to detect bullshit. I can promise you, your eyes and your words don't match.'
Norman sighed. 'Fine. I'm still hurting a bit, but it is what it is. I'll get over it. I've had to deal with worse than this before now.'
'Do you want to talk about it?'
'What is there to say?' he said sadly. 'Once her kids got it into their heads it was my fault their daddy had been sent away, there was only ever going to be one thing I could do. It wouldn't be right to ask Jane to choose between me and her children, would it? If they were adults, it might have been a bit different ball game, but they're just little kids struggling to understand.'
'That must have been hard for all of you,' she said.
'That's an understatement.' Then the false smile appeared again. 'Anyway, I don't want to dwell on that. I'm just trying to look forward. At least now I'm fit enough to start working again, so I reckon if I can keep busy, I'll get over it that much quicker. What do you say to this job? Are you in?'
She patted his arm. 'Hell yeah! Why not? Let's do it. At least then I'll be able to keep an eye on you and make sure you really are okay.'
Chapter 4
Norman adjusted the phone between his ear and shoulder. 'You already knew where she was, didn't you?'
'I've had an alert out ever since she disappeared,' Bradshaw said. 'There have been one or two possible sightings, but nothing definite until just after I called you.'
'We've got somewhere to start now. That's good. Where is it? North, south, or what?'
'Oh, I can do better than that. I can tell you exactly where she is. It's a town called Redville-on-Sea, down on the south coast. I can even give you the exact address where you can find her.'