by El Edwards
“It’s been off and on, he works away a lot, so it still feels new.”
“Would you say you know him well?”
Beverly frowned. “I’m not sure I like where this is going. What are you implying Charlie?”
“Just trying to get a full picture of the man. By your own admission, it’s still early days. It can take time to really know a person.”
“I’m sorry but I simply don’t agree. When you love someone, you just know. It might take time to get to know the details, share stories, swap anecdotes, but that’s just stuff. Anyone can tell you the stuff. When it’s love, you feel it here.” She put her hand on her heart.
Having already offended her, I decided to push it just a little further. In for a penny. “So he’s never done or said anything that’s caused you concern? Anything that didn’t seem like the person you thought you knew?”
“Of course not! Shaun is good man. I can’t speak for Declan, I don’t really know him, but my Shaun is a good man, a kind man. And whatever line of enquiry or leads you think you might be pursuing, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get ready for work.”
I stood up and headed towards the front door. I didn’t like upsetting people, it wasn’t my goal in life, but if I was right about Shaun, poor Beverly had a lot more heartache ahead of her.
FORTY-THREE
“I hope this is important, I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I said, trying my very best to sound as hostile as I felt. I was in the van, still parked outside Beverly’s house. He wasn’t interrupting anything but I wasn’t about to let him know that.
Rob, however, wasn’t fazed. “Good morning Rob. How are you today Rob? Thanks for a lovely dinner Rob. Pick one, any one. I promise it won’t kill you.”
“You are in a lot of trouble my friend. I can’t believe you said that to the girls.”
“I know, I’m sorry. Listen, are you free? I’ve got something I need to show you. Will even shout you coffee.”
I felt my animosity towards Rob wane, helped largely by how well Grace and Lou had dealt with his news, so I agreed to meet him at The Railway Inn. My head was starting to indicate that it needed more caffeine anyway so his timing was perfect. If we were on speaking terms again I wanted to get his thoughts on Beverly’s reaction too, but I’d tell him that only after he’d paid for the coffee.
He was already waiting for me when I arrived, two coffees on the table in front of him. He pushed one across with a sheepish smile.
“Have a mentioned how sorry I am?”
“Only about ten times now. It’s fine, I’m over it.” I took a sip of coffee, wondering if that was actually true. “What did you want to show me?”
He reached into his jacket, pulled out an envelope, and slid it across the table. For a split second my mind flashed back to the last envelope I’d opened and I felt something tug at my insides, but this wasn’t a smelly death threat, it was the results from the lab.
“I thought we had these already? We took them to Declan.”
“Those were just the initial reports and didn’t include all the samples. This is the good stuff. I’d particularly like to draw your attention to lines three and fourteen.”
I looked where he pointed. “That’s a match. What is it? Cannabis?”
He nodded. “Yup, traces of. Good eh?”
“Where did samples three and fourteen come from? I’m guessing one of them is the hotel?”
“Give the girl a brownie!” He looked over at a waitress. “Seriously, could we get a couple of brownies over here please? Thanks.”
We waited while the waitress brought two pieces of cake to our table. When she’d gone I turned my attention back to the paperwork in front of me.
“Very funny. Where’d the other one come from?”
“You don’t want to guess? Go on, play along.” Rob’s tone was light. I could tell he was enjoying himself.
I shook my head. “Too tired for guessing games, just tell me.”
“You’d never have guessed anyway,” he said smugly. “The playing field behind the charity shop.”
“Oh really?” He was right, that wouldn’t have been my first guess. “You know, that’s the first solid connection we’ve had between the drugs and Beverly’s dog.”
“It’s hardly solid Charlie, tenuous at best.”
“But it’s a start. Until now, the only thing I had was Beverly’s boyfriend’s brother’s alleged aptitude for electronics. Now that was tenuous. This is much more promising.”
Rob laughed. “Next you’ll be telling me Beverly’s a drug dealer, that her shop’s a front for all of Burry Port’s crackheads to score.”
“I think the term you’re looking for is pot head. Call yourself a police officer. Pah!” I grinned. “But no, of course I don’t think Beverly’s a dealer. That would be crazy. But someone is, and I’m going to find out who.”
“I had a feeling you might say that, that’s why I’ve booked a few days leave. I’m coming with you.”
“You didn’t need to do that.”
“I wanted to. Can’t have you running around all over Burry Port on your own, you might get yourself into trouble.”
“I can handle myself Rob. I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“I know you can, but I want to help.”
The way he looked at me sent my insides tumbling towards my boots. The last thing I needed was another man to mess with my head. It didn’t matter what Louise and Grace said, this friendship with Rob and whatever they thought would happen next, was not a foregone conclusion. I wasn’t stuck on one path, unable to get off. I was master of my own destiny, and if I didn’t want to find myself tangled up in a relationship with another man, I didn’t have to.
“What if I told you I want to do this on my own?” If he told me one more time that it wasn’t safe or that I needed protecting, I knew I would explode. It wouldn’t matter that we were in the middle of a busy cafe.
Thankfully, Rob chose that moment to play the cool, calm, understanding friend. “Of course you can do it on your own. But you’d be a bloody idiot if you did. It’s not a marriage proposal Charlie, it’s just an offer of help.”
I felt my cheeks flush. The girls had promised me they hadn’t said anything to Rob but now I wasn’t so sure. I opened my mouth to speak but stopped when he held up his hand.
“Let me finish, please. I know you’ve been hurt. I know what that wanker of an ex-husband did. I was the one on the other end of the phone, listening to you sob as your marriage fell apart. And I’ve watched you come out from under that weight, seen how you’ve raised two beautiful, strong, independent women. You couldn’t have done that if you’d needed a man to give you your identity. I get it.” He paused and took a deep breath. “But I’m not Jonathan. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to sleep with some random woman on your bed. I’m not going to take your trust and trample all over it. I just want to help. If you’ll let me?”
FORTY-FOUR
When Rob and I walked into the charity shop together, the two women behind the counter stopped their conversation mid-sentence and actually stared. I hadn’t had that kind of reaction when I’d gone on my own so I had to assume it was Rob’s hulking appearance that caused them to stop what they were doing. Either that or the way his laugh echoed round the small space. He’d just finished listening to me outline my sketchy memories from the previous night and apparently found it hilarious.
After such a heart-felt speech, I had of course graciously accepted his offer of help, on the condition that he let me lead. I liked to think I’d built something of a rapport with the ladies in the shop and the last thing I needed was him blundering in there ruining everything. One look at the expression on May and Jill’s faces though, and all hopes I had of continuing in the same vein as last time evaporated.
“Now who have you brought to see us today Charlie Diamond?” May asked. She leaned in and whispered loudly to Rob, “Is she tailing you too?”
Rob laughed and offered May his hand. “Rob Morgan. Lovely to meet you. Just ignore me though, I’m following Charlie around, taking notes, that sort of thing.”
“Bit hard to ignore love.” May laughed and nudged Jill. “Hey Jill?”
Jill nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Is Beverly around?” I asked. I hadn’t left her on very good terms but I was still her only hope of finding Tortoise so I was sure she’d forgive me, especially when she found out I was exploring a lead that had nothing to do with her man.
“Out the back. You know the way.” May dismissed me with a wave of her hand and then turned her attention back to Rob. “You going to stay and keep me company? You don’t want to be bothering with all that note-taking stuff, very dull.”
“I’d love to, but I really should go with Charlie. Don’t want her missing anything.” He gave her a wink and then followed me.
“Missing anything? Cheeky bugger!”
“I had to say something. She was very persistent.”
I laughed. “She’s certainly a character.” I led Rob along the corridor towards Beverly’s domain. “Hello?”
Beverly was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room when we walked in, bin bags and paperwork surrounding her, but she stood up when she saw us.
“Charlie, I didn’t expect to see you again today.” Her tone implied it wasn’t an entirely pleasant surprise.
“I’ve had some new information from Rob here. You remember Rob?”
The two of them nodded in recognition and Rob gave her a little wave. “Hello again.”
Beverly looked worried. “Is this about Shaun?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. I think we can draw a line under that conversation for now, what do you think?” I smiled.
“Sounds good.” She nodded. “So how can I help you?”
“I was hoping you’d be able to tell me a bit more about your volunteers, you mentioned you have quite a team.”
We listened as she outlined the structure of the volunteering scheme, the number of days per month each person was committed to, their expected duties and any extra responsibilities the more senior volunteers had taken on. Most of the team had been with her for years, she said. She considered them friends and some volunteers even had parents who’d worked in the shop before them. It was only when she mentioned the influx of relief volunteers that I started to get excited. Unlike the regulars, who had family ties to the town, the relief volunteers rarely stayed longer than one season.
“Students?” Rob asked.
“Sometimes, but usually they’re just people who’ve moved into the area, can’t get work, and they see us as a way to improve their CV. We have a very good reputation amongst local employers,” she added proudly. “Skills learned here are transferable.”
“Sounds like a win-win situation then,” I said. “How many relief staff have you had recently? Over the last six months say?”
“It’s hard to say without digging through the paperwork. They’re much less reliable, sort of fit us in round other commitments.”
“Hard way to run a business,” Rob said.
Beverly nodded. “It is, but I like to think we’re doing our bit by giving them those transferrable skills.”
“Any you’d describe as odd? A bit quirky? Maybe not like your regular volunteers?”
“Well I wouldn’t like to label anyone.” Beverly’s face coloured.
“But?” I prompted.
“There was one lady, she was definitely what you would describe as quirky. Quite scruffy too, last time she was here. I was going to have a word with her about it the next time she was in but I’ve not seen her since.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Hard to say exactly. Two or three weeks ago maybe.”
I caught Rob’s eye and smiled. I knew what he was thinking. She could be exactly the person we were looking for.
“What did this woman look like? How old was she?”
“Bit younger than me, mid to late thirties maybe.” She laughed. “Sorry, I’m not very good at ages. Her hair was dark, sort of messy like she hadn’t washed it in a while.”
“Do you have any contact details for her? Address? Telephone number? Emergency contact?”
Beverly hesitated. “I’m sorry but I don’t.”
“Are you sure? I couldn’t help notice you paused before answering.”
Beverly looked from me to Rob before whispering quietly in my ear. “I’ll get in trouble.”
“If you give us her number?” I whispered back.
She shook her head. “We’re meant to have numbers for all of them, but she asked me if it was okay if she didn’t give a number. Said she didn’t have one. I didn’t like to pry.” She gestured to Rob. “Will he be obliged to report me?”
I burst out laughing. “Don’t worry about him Beverly. It’s nice that you care but no, Rob’s not going to report you for not having your paperwork in order.”
She visibly relaxed. “Well thank goodness for that!” She giggled and then clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry I can’t be of more help though. I wish now I’d insisted.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we can find her,” Rob said.
I could only cross my fingers and hope that that would be true.
FORTY-FIVE
Having said our goodbyes to Beverly, promising to be in touch just as soon as we had any news, we walked out of the charity shop into bright sunlight. I still had a couple of hours left to play with before the girls were due home from school and I was keen to make the most of them. With no contact details for our latest suspect, I decided it was time to make use of Rob. He had certain skills that I knew exactly how to take advantage of.
“Where next then boss?” Rob asked, as if reading my mind.
“Next we use a bit of good old-fashioned detective work. Should be right up your alley.”
“What are we going to do? I’m not really in the mood for roughing people up.”
“We need to find out who this mystery girl is. It might be nothing but she’s the hottest lead we’ve got right now.”
“Agreed. So what’s the plan?”
“If she was working in the charity shop, she must be living locally, or she was at least. And small town folk can be relied upon for one thing: they know their own. I’ll bet someone in the town will have noticed her. Even if she’s long gone, they might know something about who she is or where she went next.”
“So we go door-to-door?”
“Exactly,” I said, waiting for Rob to complain. He’d usually have a team of officers in uniform to deal with such a mundane job. I wasn’t sure how he’d react to us doing the dirty work ourselves.
“And with two of us, we can cover twice as much ground. Where do you want to start?”
Pleasantly surprised at his reaction, I looked up and down the street. “Here seems as good a place as any. How about you go up, I’ll go down, and we meet back here when we’re finished.”
Plan agreed upon, I watched Rob walk into the greengrocers next door to the charity shop, before pushing open the door to the florist. A bell above the door tinkled as I opened it and as I walked in, the scent from the flowers enveloped my nostrils. I’d forgotten to take my hay fever tablet that morning and could already feel my nose starting to itch. Ignoring the tickle, I turned my attention to the lady behind the counter. I introduced myself and showed her my card.
“Private investigator? Oooh, am I going to be on the telly?”
I smiled. “‘Fraid not. You’re thinking of investigative journalism. My work’s a lot less glamourous. I look for missing people mostly, was wondering if you might have seen any new faces around recently?”
“New faces?” She looked puzzled.
“People from out of town, new folk, anyone you don’t know?”
“We’ve got people coming and going all the time love, it’s not like we’re some country bumpkin town, running out the strangers with pitch forks!”
She laughed. “This isn’t the fifties!”
“Of course not. I didn’t mean to imply …” I could feel myself getting flustered.
“What’s this person done anyway?” She sounded suspicious, like I might be trying to catch someone out.
“I’m not sure yet if she’s done anything, I just need to talk to her. She’s not in any trouble.” Not yet at least, I thought.
“Her? You didn’t say it was a her. What’s she look like?
“About mid-thirties, dark hair, maybe a bit scruffy. Seen anyone like that recently?”
The woman laughed. “You’ve just described about half the down and outs in this town love. Not that they come in here, we mostly just do weddings and the odd funeral. When their lot want flowers, they get ‘em from the Co-op. Cheaper see. Trouble is, they don’t last as long but they don’t really care about that.”
“She was working in the shop next door,” I said, keen to get her back on topic. “I just wondered if you might have seen her passing.”
“Next door in the animal place?”
I nodded. “Do you know her?”
“Well of course, that’s Shona. Why didn’t you say so before?”
“Sorry, silly me. Don’t suppose you know where she lives?” I could feel my excitement rising. Just wait until I told Rob that I’d found her with the very first shop I went in.
The woman shook her head. “Not a clue.”
“Oh.” Bugger!
“But you want to ask in the post office.”
“You think they’ll know where she lives?”
“Well they ought to, seeing as she was working for them! How else would they know where to send her payslip? Are you sure you’re a real investigator. You’re a bit slow!”
My head was beginning to spin. “She worked in the charity shop and in the post office?”
“Well the delivery office technically. It’s round the back, behind the main post office. But only for a bit, over Christmas.”
“And you’re sure it’s her?”
“Of course. I’m not blind.”