His Twisted Smile

by Chris Thompson

  “Kieran Gladstok?” Gordon questioned, not that he imagined it was anyone else.

  “Who wants to know?”

  “Gordon Crane. I’m a private investigator and I’m hoping you can help me.”

  “Listen, I told her I’m not paying for the DNA test. If she wants a penny from me then she can pay for it and then we’ll talk!” Kieran declared angrily.

  “While I’m sure that’s a fascinating story, I’m not here about that.” Gordon told him. “I’m here because I understand you know a woman by the name of Tamsin Muller?”

  Kieran looked taken aback for a second.

  “Yeah, what about her?”

  “Well, do you want to talk about this on the doorstep or can I come inside?”

  Kieran glanced over his shoulder into the house and then looked back at Gordon.

  “How about I come out there?” He questioned, pushing on the screen door while shutting the front door behind him.

  “Whatever you want.” Gordon replied, stepping back and allowing Kieran room to exit the house. Kieran leaned against the screen door, reached into his pocket and retrieved a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. He offered one to Gordon, who shook his head and waited for him to light up before continuing his inquiries.

  “So, what’s going on with Tamsin?”

  “She told me that during her time in university she had a… problem. A problem that you contributed to.”

  “That’s--” Kieran started to tell him, but Gordon waved him off to silence him.

  “Listen, I just want to get this out of the way; I’m not a cop. I’ve been hired by the family of Millie Reese-Smyth to investigate her death. As long as you didn’t have anything to do with her death, then you and I aren’t going to have any issues.”

  “I didn’t lay a finger on her and if Tamsin is telling you different--”

  “Relax, she did her best to persuade me you had nothing to do with it, which made her current boyfriend happy as you can imagine.” Gordon told him.

  “So, what do you want?”

  “What I want is to know what happened between you and her.” Gordon stated. He considered asking if Kieran would let him record the conversation in case it became relevant later but he doubted he’d go for it as he would probably incriminate himself when it came to the buying and selling of drugs.

  “That’s ancient history.” Kieran said dismissively.

  “Humour me.”

  “Will you make it worth my while?” Kieran wanted to know.

  “That depends what you can tell me.”

  Kieran weighed it up for a second and then shrugged.

  “You seem like a decent dude so I’ll tell you what I know for free. Tamsin and I had a fling for a while. She liked the whole bad boy thing and she really enjoyed the party favours I could get.”

  “I heard she came to like the party favours a little too much.”

  “Oh, for sure. It was all about getting a good buzz before we hit the clubs or taking the edge off after a stressful day, you know? Well, she was okay at the start, but then she got herself hooked.”

  “And you didn’t?”

  “I sure as hell didn’t!” Kieran derided with a scoff. “I knew exactly what I was doing, how much I was taking and when to stop. I come from a long line of very strong willed people on my mother’s side, so when I started to get into it a little too much I stopped. Trouble was Tammy didn’t want to. When I told her I was stopping she got pissed off at me so I kicked her to the kerb and moved on. I don’t need that kind of drama in my life.”

  “You broke it off with Tamsin?”

  “Yeah. Like I said, I don’t need that kind of drama in my life.”

  “I heard you carried on selling it to her.”

  “Well… once we weren’t an item anymore and she offered to start paying for it I figured what harm could there be. Supply and demand and all that. I priced her up a little and got a fairly nice cut for myself.”

  “And they say chivalry is dead.” Gordon commented derisively.

  “Hey, she wanted to keep polluting her body with that junk; it was her choice. I’m a big believer in personal responsibility.”

  “Is that what you tell yourself now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I got the impression you were still selling.”

  “Me? Still selling? No way!” Kieran declared angrily.

  “You’re clean?”

  “As a whistle! I’m a day trader.”

  “Really?” Gordon asked incredulously.

  “What, you don’t believe me?”

  “This isn’t the kind of place I’d expect to find someone in that line of work. Or, at least, someone who does well at it.”

  “I do very well. I took a class and started small. I live here because it’s cheap. If I keep going the way I’m going then I’ll be retired by the time I’m thirty.”

  Gordon looked at him incredulously.

  “I could give you a few tips if you like, maybe get you out of your current line of work.” Kieran offered with a shrug.

  “Let’s take it back a step then. What happened between you and Millie? I heard you and she got into it pretty bad.”

  “You could say that. I was minding my own business when she came at me, screaming to leave Tamsin alone or she’d report me to the authorities. I tried to tell her Tammy and I had split weeks ago and it was her who kept coming back every week asking me to buy for her, but she wouldn’t listen. She blamed me and she damn well let me know it. Like I said earlier, I don’t need drama in my life, so I just agreed and promised to turn Tammy away if she came looking for it again and that was that.”

  “Did you ever try to get back at Millie?”

  “Why would I? I didn’t know her and truth be told I probably couldn’t even pick her out from a line-up.”

  “Did you keep in touch with Tamsin?’

  “Nope.”

  “What about Josh?”

  “Who? Millie’s ex?”

  “Right.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever said two words to him.” Kieran said with a shake of his head.

  “Next question: did you ever sell to Millie? Or Derek Leland?”

  “Dude, I wasn’t a drug dealer then and I’m not now. I knew a guy who had extra which I sold at a markup to my ex-girlfriend. If Tamsin has said anything else then she’s a damn liar. As for Derek, I’m pretty sure he had other problems.”

  “Other problems?”

  “Yeah, he was always the weird guy on campus. Popular, but not quite... I don’t know, I’ve never met the guy but I knew a guy who knew a guy who knew him and when we met up to shoot the breeze he’d mention he seemed weird.”

  “Anything particular?”

  “Secretive. Like he was up to something. Maybe he was the guy who sold Millie drugs?”

  “Perhaps.” Gordon commented. “So, I guess you’ll tell me it’s just a coincidence that Millie was killed a few blocks from here?”

  “No kidding?” Kieran replied with a shocked expression. “I’ll be honest; I only heard second or third hand that she was dead. Friend of a friend, you know?”

  “I guess that’s all I need from you then.” Gordon stated. He felt he hadn’t learned much, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that Tamsin still wasn’t being entirely honest; perhaps to save face or possibly because Josh was there. Or maybe it was for a darker reason?

  To Gordon’s surprise, Kieran extended his hand and they shook for a minute.

  “Alright. And hey, if you ever want some tips I wasn’t joking. Might want to charge you a fee mind, but it’d be pretty reasonable.”

  “I’ll bear it in mind.” Gordon told him as they released hands. He turned and started back towards his car. He heard Kieran going back into his home and shutting the door loudly.

  Gordon doubted Kieran had anything to do with Millie’s death. Thinking about it, he was left wondering whether this whole expedition was more a deflection by Tamsin and Josh away from their
own guilt or if they were simply mistaken. Either way, the next move was clear. Gordon reached into his pocket and started to retrieve his phone so he could call Derek and arrange a meeting. Then he paused and considered... catching him by surprise might be the better option.

  Gordon drove to the Leland Security building and, except for a short period where he trudged around the employee’s parking lot on foot to find where Derek’s car was parked, waited in his car for Derek to leave. He’d found a place to park in the lot of a business across the street, hoping no one would come along and ask him to move. Befitting Derek’s status as a low level employee, it was a long walk from the front doors to his car, which would give Gordon all the time he needed to intercept him. From his vantage point he could see the doors, although they were a distance away; nevertheless, he could still make out who was coming and going.

  It was a long wait but Gordon was used to those. As the time approached five in the evening he saw a trickle of workers leaving and perked up, keeping his eyes peeled for Derek. When he finally laid eyes on him he was out of his car within seconds and hurrying across the road. Derek was fumbling for his keys and within feet of his vehicle when Gordon caught up with him.

  “Mister Leland.” Gordon announced, causing Derek to drop his keys as he turned to face him.

  “Mister Crane, I wasn’t--” Derek said, stooping to retrieve his keys and stumbling over his words. He definitely seemed more edgy than the last time Gordon had met with him.

  “Something wrong?” Gordon asked him.

  “No… no it’s just been a busy day.” Derek said turning to face him now that he had his keys once again. His lip was split and it was relatively fresh, a wound Derek didn’t have earlier in the day.

  “What happened to your lip?” Gordon wanted to know.

  “Oh, they didn’t put a wet floor sign down in the washroom and I slipped and hit my face on one of the sinks.” Derek told him a little too quickly. “What are you doing here?”

  “You asked to be informed if I found anything.”

  “Yeah, I just… I just figured you’d call or something first.”

  “I was in the area.”

  “Right.” Derek said. He didn’t seem convinced and looked worriedly back at the Leland Security building before turning back to Gordon. “So, what did you find?”

  “What you told me about the drugs was quite interesting. It led me to Tamsin’s dealer. Odd that you didn’t mention it was her boyfriend.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that.”

  “Right.” Gordon said dismissively. He watched as Derek looked back at the building a second time and then returned his attention to Gordon, looking decidedly ill-at-ease.

  “Listen, how about we do this another time?” He suggested.

  “You don’t want to know what else I found out?”

  “I do, just… just not right now.”

  “Okay, so how about I swing by the office tomorrow?”

  “No, maybe it’d be better if I--” Derek looked back at the office and his eyes widened in surprise.

  Gordon turned to see what was attracting his attention and saw a pair of men advancing towards them. He glanced up and saw a security camera fixed to a pole a few rows of cars away. The men were clearly security, and Derek seemed more unhappy about their unexpected appearance than Gordon was. They waited, and when the approaching individuals came to a stop a few paces away from them, the one on the right spoke up.

  “Mister Leland would like you to join him in his office.” He declared, his voice deep and gruff.

  “Would he now?” Gordon questioned rhetorically.

  “Both of you.” The same man issued.

  “Lead the way.” Gordon said, gesturing for them to go ahead. Instead, they moved into an escort pattern with one in front of Gordon and Derek and one behind. They moved, without another word being spoken, into the Leland Security building. They lingered only at the security station, where Gordon was relieved of his weapon once more, and then they took the elevator up to the top floor. The security pair led them to a large, corner office at the front of the building, passing by other large offices and a couple of empty conference rooms. Painted in gold lettering on the door was the name ‘Harold Leland’ and through the glass, behind an expensive, modern looking desk sat the owner of the company: Derek’s father. He was working on his computer with a few file folders open on the desk. Gordon suspected this was a show of indifference to their presence after obviously giving the instruction to have his son and Gordon brought to him. The security person in the lead opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Gordon and Derek to pass through. After that, the security team waited outside, leaving Gordon and Derek standing in front of the desk.

  “Have a seat.” Harold invited - still tapping on his keyboard – though he made it sound more like a command. He looked quite a bit like his son, but older and with a tight crew cut of grey-white hair. Casually, Gordon sat down, but Derek hesitated and seemed nervous, causing Harold to repeat himself more aggressively. After Derek was seated, Harold finished whatever it was he was pretending to do, laced his fingers and looked between Derek and Gordon.

  “So, Mister Crane is it?” Harold asked.

  “Call me Gordon.”

  “Gordon. You know, you seem a little familiar to me.” Harold stated.

  “We crossed paths once or twice before you retired. I was partnered with Lucas Jones and we were working the Stripper Strangler case. You and… who was it, Billins? You helped us out with some of your contacts in vice.”

  “Yeah, that’s what it was. You solved that case, right?”

  “It was the first big bust Jones and I had together.”

  “Nicely done. That was good, hard work, back when policing was about instinct and gut feeling rather than reports and information networks.”

  “I don’t know about that. Forensic evidence was the only reason we nailed him in the end, but I get the point you’re trying to make.”

  “Good. So, I hear you had a visit with my son today.” Harold said, leaning back in his chair.

  “Sure did. A friend of his died a while back and I’m looking into her death.”

  “That’s right. You’re a private investigator now, right?” Harold questioned, leaning forward just enough to retrieve one of the open files and then he leaned back. “Gordon Crane, Private Investigative Service. You’re a moderately successful investigator by all accounts; most of your cases are what you’d expect: cheating spouses, some missing persons, process servings. This is your first murder investigation as a private individual though, right?”

  “It is, but it’s hardly the first case I’ve worked.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt your ability, I’m just trying to get an understanding of all the facts.”

  “Dad, I--” Derek started, but a deeply withering, angry look from Harold silenced him. Gordon observed the tension between them but didn’t address it directly.

  “Is there something I can help you with, Mister Leland?” Gordon asked.

  “We both served together... well, almost, so go ahead and call me Harold. But to answer your question, I guess I’m just wondering what you wanted to learn from my son.”

  “You could’ve just asked him.”

  “Don’t worry, I did.” Harold responded, flashing a brief, cold smile. Suddenly there was possibly a different, more sinister explanation for the split on Derek’s lip.

  “Derek went to school with her and, from what her other friends told me, they were pretty close. I just wanted to get some background on her.”

  “I see.”

  “He asked to be kept in the loop of my investigation and I was stopping by to tell him what I’d learned.”

  “Excellent.” Harold said, tossing the file onto his desk. “What did you learn?”

  “And what’s your interest, Harold?”

  “If it’s something to do with my son, I’m more than interested in what happened.”

  Gordon straightened slightly. He
had a feeling there was a lot more going on between father and son than either would let on to an outsider. Was Millie tied into this somehow? Gordon couldn’t be sure.

  “Not much, I’m afraid. Your son gave me some information that led to the ex-boyfriend of one of Millie’s other friends. Turns out he used to supply drugs and he got into an altercation with Millie one day.”

  “That’s a promising lead.”

  “Sure is. I’m just having some trouble tracking him down.” Gordon lied.

  “Well, how about you give me his name and I’ll have my people look into it.” Harold offered.

  “Thanks, but I’d prefer to not involve anyone else at this point. There’s some privacy issues involved if he turns out not to have had anything to do with Millie’s death.”

  “Quite right. If I’m not mistaken, Millie’s death was ruled to be an accident? Practically self-inflicted, so it would be terrible for someone to become implicated without due cause.” Harold affirmed, his eyes boring into Gordon’s. The purpose of the meeting was suddenly crystal clear to Gordon; he was covering his company’s ass. He wanted to make sure that Gordon didn’t leak his family name, perhaps to a reporter, while pursuing the investigation as it might affect business. It didn’t explain a few other things, however, but Gordon decided to ponder that later.

  “People hire private investigators because we’re renowned for our discretion.” Gordon stated simply. Harold smiled.

  “So true.”

  “With that said, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I think the investigation into Millie’s death was sloppy by any objective measure and, while I wouldn’t go anywhere near as far as saying it’s because of some kind of corruption, I would say it shows the incompetence of the original detective because there are quite a few unanswered questions. So, as I told Millie’s mother, I’ll keep investigating until I’m satisfied I have the answer to why she’s dead.”

  Harold eyed him for a few moments and then the cold smile spread across his face.

  “Excellent. I thought the same when I gave the information a cursory glance, so I’m glad someone so dedicated is working the case. Just be sure to arrange a meeting in advance with my son in future. He’s got a busy workload and I would hate for him to be disturbed at such an important stage in his career.”