by El Edwards
“Awww, thanks Rob.”
“But you have to promise me something.”
“Go on?”
“No more secrets. If we’re going to work together, I need to know you’re not keeping anything from me.”
“I could say the same to you!”
“Do we have a deal?” He stuck out his hand and I shook it.
“Deal.”
For the first time in days, the cloud that had been hanging over me lifted. It felt really good to have Rob on side again, even if I wasn’t ready to admit that to him yet.
“If we’re really a team though, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
Rob was a great judge of character and I couldn’t wait to find out what he’d make of Shaun. Maybe together we’d be able to get to the bottom of my uneasiness around his brother and figure out what, if anything, either of them had to do with the dog’s disappearance.
TWENTY-FIVE
I wasn’t entirely sure what danger Rob feared lurking as a result of my foray into the world of local journalism but any worries he’d lodged in the recesses of my mind were quickly chased away by an invitation to meet another pig owner. I practically bounced towards Beverly’s house when we went to pick up Shaun, my joy and delight impossible to hide. True to my word, Rob was with me. I was keen for him to meet Shaun and my appointment with a pig owner seemed as good a time as any for an introduction. I hoped that meeting him under the guise of interviewing someone else might ease any potential pressure either of them felt.
We’d agreed to go in Rob’s car, my van only had space for two, so while he drove, I gave the pair of them a running commentary on what we knew so far about Janelle, my newest micro-pig-owning friend.
“She’s got two, both girls, and they live in the garden, officially at least, but she let’s them sleep in the kitchen when it gets really cold. Can you imagine, having a pair of piggies wandering around your house?” I laughed to myself, aware that neither of my companions appeared to be listening. In a bid to fill the silence, I continued chatting about the village she lived in. It sounded like Gloddfa Bont so I was looking forward to meeting her.
Twenty minutes later, Rob slowed down to thirty as we made our way through a pretty little village just over the border into Pembrokeshire. The directions Janelle had given me were very specific and we soon found ourselves pulling up onto her drive. The low slung farmhouse looked warm and welcoming. I couldn’t tell you why but I had a good feeling about this place.
We got out of the car but before we could find the front door to knock, a door at the side opened and we were greeted by a smiling face.
“Hello, you must be Charlie? I’m Janelle. Come in, come in.”
We followed the woman through into her kitchen where a second figure was waiting to greet us.
“This is Tom, my husband.”
We exchanged pleasantries, took a seat as instructed and said the usual ‘yes please’ to a cup of tea. When we were finally all seated with steaming mugs in front of us, I took that as my cue to make a start. I’d already introduced both Rob and Shaun to the couple.
“Thanks so much for agreeing to see us.”
“When I read your piece in the paper I knew I had to.”
“I really appreciate it. I’m surprised you saw it though. I didn’t know you’d get the Star round here.”
“My sister sent me a link to it, from the website, cos she knew about Pinky and Perky.”
The names of her pigs made me smile. It was clear they were both treasured pets, no matter how much she liked to pretend they had a work purpose.
“You mentioned on the phone that they’re working animals?”
Her husband snorted. “I think ‘working’ would be stretching it a bit.”
“Oh Tom!” Janelle sounded irritated. She turned to me. “Ignore him. They are pets first, of course, but they were great at finding truffles. Business has been a nightmare.”
“You have a truffle business?”
She nodded. “We sell to restaurants all over South Wales, even as far as Bristol. We’re quite sought after.” Her expression changed. “Or we were. Like I say, it’s been a quiet time recently.”
“Trouble is, it’s too easy to import them. It’s not like it used to be,” Shaun said. He was shaking his head.
I looked up, surprised to hear Shaun’s voice. Both he and Rob had been under very clear instructions to leave the conversation to me.
Janelle turned to him. “You know the industry?”
He nodded. “Just a little. Some of my contacts in London, we took a punt a couple of years ago.” He shook his head. “Tough gig.”
While the conversation continued around me, I glanced over at Rob and saw him watching Shaun carefully. I knew that look only too well, mostly because this latest revelation from Shaun was setting off my own internal alarms. There was no real reason why he should have mentioned his truffle business before but all the same, I was curious to know why he hadn’t. It was clear he knew about the role a pig might play in the industry and I couldn’t help wonder what else he might be hiding.
Beverly was convinced he was madly in love with her but what if she was wrong? What if his involvement with her was all part of some bigger plan? I pushed the thought away, convinced that I might be the crazy one. If he really was just playing her, he’d been playing a very long game. And for what purpose? To set up a travelling zoo full of miniature animals? What nonsense!
I decided it was time to steer the conversation back to my investigation. “Were you home on the day they were taken Janelle?”
“No, I was visiting my mother. That’s what makes it worse. If only I’d been home.”
“You can’t be expected to stay here all the time dear.” Tom’s voice was tender. He looked at me. “She’s been in such a state ever since, not just because of the business. She loves those stupid animals.” He hesitated then smiled. “We both do.”
“And you were at work at the time?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Out on my rounds. Delivery driver.”
“Any signs of a forced entry?”
“Nothing.” He gestured in Rob’s direction. “Police came but it was like they’d just upped and vanished into thin air.”
Rob nodded as if to confirm what Tom was saying. “There was nothing to go on. The investigation’s ongoing, but it’s been a difficult one.”
The mood in the room had turned somber. Ever the optimist, I was keen to leave the couple feeling at least a little more hopeful than they were when we arrived but with every trail running to a dead end, I was less than confident of giving them a happy ending. All the same, I left my card with them and promised I’d keep in touch.
I turned to Rob when we were back at the car. “Let’s get Shaun back to Beverly. You and I have a couple of leads to explore.”
I ignored Rob’s puzzled expression, knowing that I’d explain everything just as soon as we were out of Shaun’s earshot.
TWENTY-SIX
We arrived back at Beverly’s house in record time. “Thanks for coming today Shaun. Tell Beverly I’ll be in touch soon.” I waited until Shaun was safely deposited back inside then turned to Rob. “Fancy a coffee? My treat.”
He nodded and drove us to The Railway Inn, our favourite greasy spoon. Neither of us said a word while the waitress put two menus in front of us. Without glancing at it, I ordered us both a coffee and a bacon sandwich. Only then did I turn to Rob.
“What do you think?”
“Where do you want me to start?”
“Weird coincidence.”
“The truffles?”
“Yeah. He didn’t mention it before.”
“I guessed as much.”
“So what do you think?” I asked again. I watched Rob’s face for clues.
He took a deep breath before speaking. “It’s probably nothing.”
I felt the air rush out of me as if I’d been punched in the guts. “Seriously? That’s what you’re going with?”
“What?” He held out his hands in a gesture of surrender. “You know it’s probably nothing, that’s why you asked me. He’s probably just some schmuck of a guy.”
“You don’t think the pig thing is weird?”
Rob shrugged. “Maybe. I mean yeah, it is a bit, but your suspicions can’t be right every time, can they.”
I couldn’t believe I was hearing this, from Rob of all people. I’d seen the way he’d been watching Shaun and the two of us had worked together long enough to know what he was really thinking.
“Are you holding out on me again?” I asked. “You know something about him but don’t want me to push it?” A thought occurred to me. “Shit Rob! Is that why you agreed to work together on all this? So you could send me off in the wrong direction?”
Rob laughed. “Don’t be daft Charlie. I know as much about the guy as you do, less probably, seeing as I never met him before today.”
“Why are you backing off?”
“I just think we need to be careful. If the only tool you’ve got is a hammer, sooner or later everything’ll start looking like a nail.”
“Piss off!” He wasn’t even being original. “Bloody Maslow!”
“What are you on about?”
“Maslow said that crap about the hammer. Stop analysing me and tell me what you really thought of Beverly’s mystery man. Otherwise you can pay for your own coffee.”
He was saved from answering by my phone ringing. I glanced at the screen but the number was withheld.
“Hello?”
The line was silent.
“Hello? I don’t know if you can hear me but I can’t hear you.” I looked at the screen again to check how much signal I had. “I can’t hear you. I’m going to hang up now.”
As soon as I ended the call, my phone burst into life again. This time I could see the number was home. “Hello?”
“Mum?” It was Louise and she didn’t sound happy. “Where are you? Can you come home? There’s a bloke at the door with seventeen ham and pineapple pizzas. He says he won’t leave until I pay for them. And I don’t even eat meat!”
After leaving Rob with a fiver to cover the coffees, I arrived home in record time. True to his word, a pizza delivery man was standing in front of our house and didn’t look like he was in a hurry to leave.
“Can I help you?”
“You Mrs Diamond?”
“Ms Diamond. Yes. What’s all this about?”
“I have a delivery for Diamond. Ham and pineapple pizza. That’ll be two hundred and thirty seven pounds and eighty three pence please. Plus tip.”
I glanced over his shoulder and saw two towers of pizza boxes on the front door step.
“That’s a lot of pizza …” I peered at his name tag. “Dave.”
Dave nodded. “Yep. Still got here in record time,” he added, sounding proud. “Cash or cheque?”
“The thing is Dave, we didn’t order these pizzas. My daughter’s vegetarian. In fact, I’m surprised the company would even process an order of this size without payment up front.”
Dave shrugged. “It was a quiet morning.”
“Not my problem I’m afraid Dave. Now if you could take these pizzas off my front door step so I can get inside, I’d really appreciate it.”
“My boss isn’t going to be very happy.”
“Sorry to hear that Dave.” I took a ten pound note out of my purse and handed it to him. “Here’s a little something for your trouble.”
“You really didn’t order these?” He asked, as if to make sure. “Diamond. Phone number ending 4608?”
“That’s me but no, I definitely didn’t order them. If the boss gives you a hard time, maybe suggest he take payment up front next time.”
He grunted before huffing and puffing his way back to his van, with first one then the other tower of pizza boxes. When he was finally gone I let myself into the house where I found Louise watching from behind the curtain in the front room.
“How did you get rid of him?” She sounded full of admiration, as if I’d just performed some amazing feat.
“Told him you were vegetarian.”
She laughed.
“I think the tenner I slipped him helped too.”
“You gave him ten pounds for delivering pizzas we didn’t even order?” She sounded outraged.
“Better than two hundred. Anyway, what are you doing home? I thought you’d be in school young lady.”
Colour flooded her cheeks. “Got a lift home. Free lesson.”
“From?”
She didn’t say anything but her silence told me everything.
“I hope you know what you’re doing. He’s a nice lad. I’d hate to see him hurt.”
“Him hurt? What about me? He’s older than me.”
“On paper maybe, but you’ve got years on him. Just be gentle.”
I liked living in Gloddfa Bont. The last thing I needed was a scandal on our doorstep because my daughter got herself in trouble with the local mechanic.
“Besides, you’ve got exams to be focussing on. You’ll have time for running around with boys in the summer.”
“Yes Mum. Speaking of which, I think I’ll go upstairs and study. Thanks for rescuing me from the pizzas.”
“Any time.”
I watched as she skipped her way upstairs, no doubt to study the inside of her eyelids. My thoughts turned back to the unexpected delivery. I had no idea who’d want to land me with two hundred pounds worth of pizzas. Not knowing sent a tingle up my spine.
TWENTY-SEVEN
The following morning dawned bright and sunny. Having left Rob in a rush the previous day, and in the interest of keeping my side of the deal about working together, I agreed to meet him back up at the hotel. I wasn’t convinced he didn’t know more than he was letting on about Shaun but with no proof, I decided it made no sense to pick a fight with him about it. Instead, I’d do my bit, show him around, be open and honest, and just hope he was doing the same.
I decided against parking at Beverly’s house, I didn’t want Shaun tagging along this time, so instead parked near the bottom of the hill and walked up. Rob was already waiting for me near the top when I got there.
“Why are we here again?” he asked.
“I have a few loose ends I need to tie up.”
“Loose ends? What exactly are you expecting to find.”
“Dunno exactly, but there’s something about this place that doesn’t feel right.”
“And you think it’s connected to the dog? That’s why we’re doing this remember.”
“I’ve not forgotten that. But what if it’s something more? You told me yourself that your lot have closed ranks. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
Rob shrugged. “Maybe. But if you’re hoping I can tell you what they’re looking for you’re out of luck I’m afraid.”
“I know. You’re here strictly off duty.”
I led him round the side of the house. The pane of glass I’d punched in during my last visit had been boarded up but it didn’t look very secure. I gave the piece of wood a little nudge and it slipped.
“Ooops, that’s a shame.” I smirked at Rob then gave the wood a bigger shove. It clattered to the floor and I held my breath, waiting for the alarm to start up again.
Rob gave me a look. “You’ve done that before haven’t you?”
I reached into the window and carefully removed the glass. “No comment. But you’re off duty, remember?”
“I am, but if I witness a crime, I’m obliged to do something about it. You know that.”
“No crime here officer. I’m a law-abiding citizen concerned for the welfare of her local community. Just imagine what might happen if a child came up here. I need to make sure it’s safe.”
I peered through the window, keen to locate the alarm so I could disable it as quickly as possible once I got inside.
“What are you looking for?”
“There’s an alarm …”
“Charlie!”
“Relax Rob, it’s not a proper one.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because I did my homework. Rang round all the local companies, none of them have a contract up here. And there’s no phone line or electric either. Which means whatever is making that racket has to be battery operated.”
“What racket?”
Before he could stop me, I put my hand through the window, opened the door and stepped inside. As expected, the alarm started wailing but this time I ignored it and moved further into the room. I dragged a table across to the corner of the room, jumped on top of it to reach the box I was aiming for, and flicked out a pair of batteries.
“That’s better,” I said with a smile. I jumped off the table and headed towards a door that I imagined led into the rest of the hotel. I looked back to see Rob still standing outside. “You coming or what?”
“This is breaking and entering.”
“Not really. It was already broken, I just helped it along a bit. So are you coming or would you prefer to play look out?”
“Wait there.” Rob said. I watched though the window as he went back to the front of the building. Apparently satisfied that we hadn’t alerted anyone, he was soon back and at my side. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
I smiled. “Always. Besides, you’re the one who said you wanted to work as a team. Couldn’t go around having all this fun without you, could I?”
He pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket and put them on then pulled out a matching pair and handed them to me. “If we’re going to do this, you need to put these on. Can’t be too careful.”
“Aww Rob, I never knew you cared.” I put the gloves on then used the edge of my jacket to wipe the side of the door I’d already touched.
I pushed the door open and stepped into what once might have been the hotel’s dining room. All the windows had been boarded up but a shaft of light illuminated a dilapidated sideboard. I walked over to where the light was coming in and pulled at the wood. Sunlight flooded the room and for a moment I was blinded. I stumbled across the room and smacked my foot on the edge of a table. A cloud of dust rose up and threatened to choke me.